The Stream, March 11: China’s Potential Shale Gas Boom ‘In Trouble’

None of the 16 firms awarded exploration rights for Chinese shale-gas reserves has ever drilled a gas well before. That lack of experience, Reuters reported, could be another setback in China’s plans to tap its shale-gas reserves, the largest in the world.

Read Circle of Blue’s coverage of the barriers to China’s shale-gas development potential here.

National Water Center
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is building the United States’ first federal water-resources facility at the University of Alabama. The $US 23.5 million center, The Crimson White reported, will house research centers, engineering studios, situation rooms, and an auditorium to improve water forecasts and broader scientific understanding.

Tensions with Mexico
Reservoirs and canals in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley are close to running out of water, the Houston Chronicle reported. Area officials are afraid that Mexico will not share the water it owes under a 1944 treaty.

Pig Pollution
Thousands of pig carcasses were dumped into the Huangpu River, Shanghai, China’s main water source. More than 2,800 were fished from the river as of Monday, NPR reported, adding to fears about pollution in China’s land, air, and water.

Read more about China’s water-pollution struggles from Circle of Blue here.

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