OUT OF MIND
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Latest topics
» Is it possible to apply positive + in favor Newton III Motion Law as a dynamic system in a motor engine
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptySat Mar 23, 2024 11:33 pm by globalturbo

» Meta 1 Coin Scam Update - Robert Dunlop Arrested
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptySat Mar 23, 2024 12:14 am by RamblerNash

» As We Navigate Debs Passing
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Jan 08, 2024 6:18 pm by Ponee

» 10/7 — Much More Dangerous & Diabolical Than Anyone Knows
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyThu Nov 02, 2023 8:30 pm by KennyL

» Sundays and Deb.....
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptySun Oct 01, 2023 9:11 pm by NanneeRose

» African Official Exposes Bill Gates’ Depopulation Agenda: ‘My Country Is Not Your Laboratory’
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyThu Sep 21, 2023 4:39 am by NanneeRose

» DEBS HEALTH
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptySun Sep 03, 2023 10:23 am by ANENRO

» Attorney Reveals the “Exculpatory” Evidence Jack Smith Possesses that Exonerates President Trump
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyTue Aug 29, 2023 10:48 am by ANENRO

» Update From Site Owner to Members & Guests
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyTue Aug 29, 2023 10:47 am by ANENRO

» New global internet censorship began today
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 21, 2023 9:25 am by NanneeRose

» Alienated from reality
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 4:29 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Why does Russia now believe that Covid-19 was a US-created bioweapon?
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 4:27 pm by PurpleSkyz

»  Man reports history of interaction with seemingly intelligent orbs
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:34 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Western reactions to the controversial Benin Bronzes
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:29 pm by PurpleSkyz

» India unveils first images from Moon mission
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:27 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Scientists achieve nuclear fusion net energy gain for second time
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:25 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Putin Signals 5G Ban
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:07 pm by PurpleSkyz

» “Texas Student Dies in Car Accident — Discovers Life after Death”
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:05 pm by PurpleSkyz

» The hidden history taught by secret societies
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:03 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Vaccines and SIDS (Crib Death)
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:00 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Sun blasts out highest-energy radiation ever recorded, raising questions for solar physics
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 2:29 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Why you should be eating more porcini mushrooms
Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  EmptySun Aug 06, 2023 10:38 am by PurpleSkyz


You are not connected. Please login or register

Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes

Go down  Message [Page 1 of 1]

PurpleSkyz

PurpleSkyz
Admin

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes

Via cnn.com, 25 July 2013 - Four months after he built a new, two-story brick house in his village in northern China's Shandong Province, Xiao Guoqiang was alarmed to find a huge crack on the living room wall.

Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes  130722045724-sinkhole-1-horizontal-gallery
Xiao Guoqiang, a 50-year-old farmer stands before his sunken village in Jining, Shandong Province on June 26, 2013. Underground mining in this region is devouring 20 million square meters of land a year.

Having seen homes in neighboring villages sink, Xiao realized his long-held fears were coming true.
"I knew the day was coming, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon," said Xiao, who has been forced to move from the land -- on which four generations of his family have lived -- as a consequence.

Xiao's hometown, Jining, is one of China's "coal cities," whose mineral wealth helps light up the night skies of the world's most energy-hungry country. The land here is honeycombed with coal mines, which can form massive sinkholes that leave thousands of homes uninhabitable every year.

Ten years ago, the area where Xiao lived was a vibrant farming community on the North China Plain. But sinkholes are devouring 20 million square meters (7.7 square miles) of land here a year, according to the Jining Land Resource Bureau, and have displaced an estimated 100,000 people, mostly farmers and their families, over the past decade.

By 2090, the bureau predicts one third of the city -- an area as large as Los Angeles -- will fall into the earth, and an estimated 5 million people will have been forced out of the region by the problem.

Those figures worry government-affiliated sinkhole researcher Gu Mei, who said tensions over migration may lead to social unrest.

"Schools in some districts are overwhelmed with migrant students, while in other districts, classrooms are half empty," she told CNN.

Sinkholes: Common, costly and sometimes deadly

In this low-lying area, most sinkholes quickly fill with water. "I am afraid the city is turning into the Venice of the East," former mayor Li Guangsheng told the Qilu Weekly, a local newspaper, earlier this year.

When coal was discovered in the region in the 1960s, it proved a boon for the local economy. State-run miner YanKaung Group Ltd. grew from a local coal company to a multination-listed energy giant, employing about one of every two workers in town.

Meng Lingjun, a coal company employee, remembers the city as an underdeveloped backwater thirty years ago.

"When I was young, the town did not have a single factory, shopping mall or train station," he said. "Now we are one of the most affluent regions in North China."

But that prosperity has come at a price. Each day, Meng passes hundreds of sinkholes on his way to work. Like many urban residents, he believes it is too late for the city to withdraw from the lucrative coal business.
"We are nothing without the coal company," he said. "All we can do is keep mining and fixing the sinkholes."
In recent years, local officials tried several creative solutions for the sinkhole crisis, transforming the gaping holes into water theme parks, fishing ponds and lakes. One has been turned into a wetland park, a major spot for bird watching in the northern part of the city; another is now a fish breeding pond powered by solar panels.

But more than 50% of the subsided land remains abandoned, often polluted and emitting a pungent aroma. "The fund from central government for fixing sinkholes can barely cover expenses," government official Han Xizhong told CNN.

While China's Mine Subsidence Compensation Act gives clear guidance for how much a coal company should pay displaced residents for damages, it fails to take into account the problems that follow, Han said.
"The sinkhole issue is more complicated than removing a village and refilling the sinkholes," said another local official, who asked his name not be used because of the sensitive nature of the issue. "Many deep sinkholes have been sinking for over 10 years. You don't know the right time to treat them. Also communities removed from the subsidence area still need government support after moving to a new place."

But government-affiliated researcher Gu Mei claims the government has done a poor job addressing the problem.

"Local government would not consider filling sinkholes," Gu said. "Think about it. If you can easily turn a flooded subsidence into a water theme park, would you take pains to reclaim the land?"

Some farmers have attempted to fill the holes themselves -- only to find the cost is too high.

It costs at least US$15 per square meter to drain a hole and put in new soil. But according to Xiao Guoqiang, villagers only get compensated to the tune of US$5 per square meter from the coal company.

The Yankuang Group declined CNN requests for comment, citing the sensitivity of mining-induced farmland losses and migration issues.

For Xiao, the move to his new home has hit the family's dinner table as they can no longer raise their own pigs or grow their own vegetables.

"The pork price is rising and we cannot afford it. Having fresh vegetables and meat had never been a problem before because we grew and bred what we wanted to eat," Xiao said.
Another villager points out the lack of jobs in the new location.

"Our new home is 20 miles (32.1 kilometers) from the nearest town. It is hard for us find a decent job," said Kong Jian, who operates a street noodle stand.

"Young people flock to bigger cities, looking for factory jobs. Those who stayed are doing small businesses like operating noodle restaurants," Xiao said. "But for the next generation, nobody will know how to farm."
The 50-year old gets emotional when talking about his old village.

"As I get older, my nostalgic feeling for the old village grows stronger. I try not to think about it -- about the fact that it is a lake and the village only lives in my memory."

Related Posts

  • Living a nightmare in China's city of sinkholes
  • Strange happenings continue at the Louisiana Bayou Corne sinkhole
  • Incredible images show giant sinkhole in Sweden that keeps expanding!
  • Wrenshall firefighters rescue horse from sinkhole
  • Massive sinkhole kills five in south China town of Shenzhen

By Laron at 12:00 PM 

Thanks to: http://www.transients.info

Back to top  Message [Page 1 of 1]

Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum