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Climate change in Vietnam ‘destroying family life’–Latest BBC Lies

October 9, 2019

By Paul Homewood

 

 

h/t MrGrimNasty

 

 

 

If it’s climate change, you can pretty much guarantee the BBC won’t tell you the truth!

 

 

image

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-49854753/the-displaced-climate-change-in-vietnam-destroying-family-life

 

 

In fact, as with many deltas around the world, the problem has very little to do with rising seas, but soil subsidence:

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Newswise — River deltas face threats other than rising sea levels. Physical geographer Philip Minderhoud (Utrecht University and Deltares Research Institute) has studied soil subsidence in the Mekong delta, and managed to raise the issue with the Vietnamese government. Minderhoud will defend his dissertation in University Hall at Utrecht University on 15 February.

In the late 1980s, Vietnam transitioned towards a market economy, which resulted in increased agricultural production, population figures, and urbanisation, all of which heightened the demand for ground water. But as Minderhoud wrote in his dissertation, pumping out ground water exacerbates the problem of soil subsidence. “The area also has a soft, shallow soil layer. The growth in infrastructure that has accompanied the past few decades of economic development has placed an extra burden on the soil. This is another reason the soil is subsiding, which makes the sea level rise more quickly in relation to the land. It’s as if the delta is sinking into the sea. Plus, salt water is pushing ever farther land-inwards, so the delta also faces the problem of salinization.”

 

https://www.newswise.com/articles/the-sinking-mega-delta-in-vietnam-soil-subsidence-in-the-mekong-delta-is-a-hidden-assassin

 

 

Philip Minderhoud is regarded as the world’s leading expert on soil subsidence in the Mekong delta. His paper, Impacts of 25 years of groundwater extraction on subsidence inthe Mekong delta, Vietnam, notes that during the past 25 years, the delta sank on average ~18 cm as a consequence of groundwater withdrawal. In comparison, sea level rise of 2mm a year is relatively insignificant.

605-081_meantrend

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?id=605-081

The paper also states that over the past 25 years, groundwater exploitation has increased dramatically, transforming the delta from an almost undisturbed hydrogeological state to a situation with increasing aquifer depletion.

 

And it is not just water extraction:

image

Upstream damming and extensive mining of the Mekong’s riverbed for sand is causing the land between the sprawling network of rivers and channels near the mouth of one of the world’s great rivers to sink at a pace of around 2cm (0.75 inches) a year, experts and officials said…

 

Across the region, local authorities are struggling with a rapid pace of erosion that is destroying homes and threatening livelihoods in the Southeast Asian country’s largest rice-growing region.

A key cause is the years of upstream damming in Cambodia, Laos and China that has removed crucial sediment, local officials and experts said.

That sediment, vital for checking the mighty Mekong’s currents, has also been lost due to an insatiable demand for sand – a key ingredient in concrete and other construction materials in fast-developing Vietnam – that has created a market both at home and abroad for unregulated mining.

“It’s not a problem of the lack of water, it’s the lack of sediment,” said Duong Van Ni, an expert on the Mekong River at the College of Natural Resources Management of Can Tho University, the largest city in the Mekong Delta region.

At this time of year the waters of the Mekong used to flow into Vietnam as a milky-brown crawl, locals and officials said.

Now, the river runs clear. And without fresh sediment from upstream, the deeper riverbed creates stronger currents, which in turn eat away at the banks of the Mekong, where those who rely on the river for their livelihoods have their homes.

The problems began when China built its first hydropower plants in the Upper Mekong Basin, said Ni. That left Laos, Cambodia and Thailand as the main source of sediment for the Mekong in Vietnam, he said.

Sand mining in Cambodia boomed over the last 10 years, fuelled in part by demand from wealthy but cramped Singapore, where it is used to reclaim land along its coast, and culminating in a government ban of all Cambodian sand exports in 2017 under pressure from environmental groups.

But hydroelectric projects have continued. Earlier this month, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen opened a US$816 million hydroelectric dam in Stung Treng province, near the border with Laos, built by companies from China, Cambodia and Vietnam.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2181929/tibet-nine-dragons-vietnams-mekong-delta-losing-sand

 

Unsurprisingly the BBC make no reference to either of these factors, but spend 10 minutes mentioning climate change every few seconds.

30 Comments
  1. cajwbroomhill permalink
    October 9, 2019 7:01 pm

    What on Earth has tempted the BBC to infri ge its Charter by shedding impartiality?
    Denationalising at least its News and Comments arms is essential, perhaps by making these pay their own way.
    The documentary programmes are of too high quality to lose to pure commerce but could surely stand on their own, funded by subscription.

    • Adam Gallon permalink
      October 11, 2019 8:28 am

      Pressure from “Those that matter”

  2. Dropout permalink
    October 9, 2019 7:02 pm

    Isn’t that what happened to New Orleans?

    • Nancy & John Hultquist permalink
      October 10, 2019 3:17 am

      Google Earth will show you the Atchafalaya River.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchafalaya_River

      There has been so much written, filmed, and money spent in the Mississippi Delta regarding sediment and related things that someone new to the topic could never read it all.

  3. October 9, 2019 7:15 pm

    Reblogged this on Climate- Science.press.

  4. Tim Spence permalink
    October 9, 2019 7:30 pm

    Large rivers normally have regular dredging to keep shipping lanes open, but Deltas are a different matter, especially this size, tricky. I would think that designating a principle outlet canal and building flood defences with regular dredging is the first step.

    As for Salt, this is normal in estuaries, totally normal, never has it been any different. The fresh water flows over the salt water and fish live happily in the depth they prefer. If the river changes course and you try to farm the salted land, it might be a problem, so don’t do it.
    It’s not climate change.

    OT… I see California is shutting off much of its electricity supply in preparation for the Santa Ana winds.

  5. October 9, 2019 7:33 pm

    Climate change and sea level rise destroying family life in Vietnam. Oh so sad. So very sad that the BBC has divorced poor old Bangladesh and has a new climate change sea level rise lover!

    https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-133252

  6. MrGrimNasty permalink
    October 9, 2019 7:55 pm

    It’s back to the Penguins today – it’s hard to know where to start dismantling this story based on fantasy.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49978007

    But nevertheless, every time I heard this story mentioned on BBC news the presenter stated Antarctica SEA ICE IS MELTING and Antarctica IS WARMING.

    The BBC supposedly holds itself to high standards but is now a fake news disgrace and an embarrassment.

    This story was straight from the climate change propaganda sausage machine and widely disseminated in the MSM, published without regard to objective fact or rational balance.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7553719/HALF-worlds-Emperor-penguins-die-80-years-Antarctic-keeps-melting.html

    Funded by WWF (suicidal Walruses!), a review of 150 studies – so as is now common, this is not actual new research, they probably start out with a conclusion that they want to support, and rehash selected old work to keep the scare alive in the MSM.

    • Phoenix44 permalink
      October 10, 2019 9:31 am

      A data dredge of selected research with the algorithm tuned to find “something.”

      P hacking and cherry-picking which papers you use.

      Its fraud and lies. Simple as that.

  7. Broadlands permalink
    October 9, 2019 8:07 pm

    The confusion between a rise in sea level and geological subsidence is common. Subsidence is also taking place in Bangladesh and in the US Gulf Coast. Rising sea level has not created a lasting submergence anywhere that humans are permanently residing. It does make for more scary fodder for the climate alarmed to display almost daily.

  8. john cooknell permalink
    October 9, 2019 9:47 pm

    I saw this several weeks ago on the BBC “Science” webpage, and just ignored it.

    Most things on the BBC “Science” web page just come straight from “Extinction Guaranteed”.

  9. mikewaite permalink
    October 9, 2019 10:14 pm

    I thought that I saw a notice in the TV guide about a BBC programme,presented by Ian Hislop, about lies spread by the media. I did not view it, assuming that it would contain nothing but anti-Trump and anti-Brexit stories, and of course “all the lies” that come from climate -change sceptic websites.

  10. Thomas Carr permalink
    October 9, 2019 10:38 pm

    Here we go again. Has the BBC no recollection as to why water extraction from the aquifers under Venice had to stop? Difficult to know whether the BBC has no recollection, is lazy or stupid.

  11. Jason permalink
    October 9, 2019 11:40 pm

    Is anyone complaining to the BBC about this constant broadcasting of outrageous falsehoods?

  12. john cooknell permalink
    October 10, 2019 12:07 am

    I am, had a complaint about Whaley Bridge dam emergency coverage being due to “climate change” .

    So far they sort of admit they got it completely wrong but they are still just defending the line “we should all be concerned about climate change” so apparently anything goes.

  13. bobn permalink
    October 10, 2019 12:11 am

    Just for fun. Many you’ll have seen before.
    The Competitive Enterprise Institute has published a new paper, “Wrong Again: 50 Years of Failed Eco-pocalyptic Predictions.” Keep in mind that many of the grossly wrong environmentalist predictions were made by respected scientists and government officials.

    https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions

  14. October 10, 2019 1:20 am

    Reblogged this on WeatherAction News and commented:

    Across the region, local authorities are struggling with a rapid pace of erosion that is destroying homes and threatening livelihoods in the Southeast Asian country’s largest rice-growing region.

    A key cause is the years of upstream damming in Cambodia, Laos and China that has removed crucial sediment, local officials and experts said.

    That sediment, vital for checking the mighty Mekong’s currents, has also been lost due to an insatiable demand for sand – a key ingredient in concrete and other construction materials in fast-developing Vietnam – that has created a market both at home and abroad for unregulated mining.

    Clearly more prayer wheels as well as timely protests by students and middle class death cults queuing in McDonald’s will stop this environmental outrage!

  15. Bryan Wilson permalink
    October 10, 2019 8:48 am

    Paul

    Not sure if you heard this interview earlier in the week but some of the guff from the interviewee, totally unchallenged JV, was appalling.

    Regards and keep up the good work.

    Bryan Wilson, BSc FRICS, Managing Director

    Gleniffer Land Limited 272 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JR m. 07585 054906 t. 0141 354 1590

    ________________________________

  16. bobn permalink
    October 10, 2019 9:13 am

    So daming the river to produce green renewable energy is the culprit.

  17. PaulCn permalink
    October 10, 2019 9:33 am

    This is not the first time the BBC have done this. The same disgraceful distortion was present during that awful program “Climate Change The Facts”. A quick check showed that Jean Charles Island was under threat because of sinking land levels, salination and canals cut through the delta; deltas are unstable places anyway. All this information was freely available on Wikipedia of all places who are even more alarmist than the BBC if that is possible. I was surprised this was not picked up at the time, maybe it drowned in the flood of inaccurate facts that pervaded the program.

  18. October 10, 2019 12:10 pm

    I well remember when the Viet Cong were destroying family life in the 1960’s. They were certainly more efficient at it.

  19. October 10, 2019 12:50 pm

    Climate alarmoholics need a constant diet of supposedly bad news to avoid that fish-out-of-water-gasping-for-breath feeling. Enter the BBC and the other media propagandists.

  20. October 10, 2019 2:16 pm

    > If it’s climate change, you can pretty much guarantee the BBC won’t tell you the truth!

    97% of the time, yes. But amazingly, there was a BBC programme last night where some truths about climate change came out:

    Andrew Neil interviews XR spokesperson

  21. Harry Passfield permalink
    October 10, 2019 4:15 pm

    Something not dissimilar was reported on Farming Today this morning. A reporter was interviewing an English vineyard owner who was doing very well producing good wine in Yorks (I think he said). He’d been at it for 20 years or so and was remarking that CC was bringing his harvests forward each year. My take on it was that it wasn’t so much CC as having been getting huge experience with tending vines over 20 years that had produced a very efficient process that was making for an efficient vineyard. He certainly was earning well from it, CC or no.
    The odd thing was, when he was pressed by the reporter to find something bad to say in relation to CC he came up with the problem caused by heavy rain causing the vines to take up too much water which caused the grapes to split. So, what did he put this down to, asked the reporter (in hope, I suspect). Oh, says the owner, that’s bad weather, which is to be expected at times.
    See, warmer is CC; wetter is weather.

  22. David permalink
    October 10, 2019 7:37 pm

    If the BBC sold or rented out its programs such as Strictly and Casualty, the income they would produce from advertising would pay for the rest of the proper serious output.(Not the fake news of course ) Assuming they then made the majority of their 30000 employees redundant they could then abolish the license fee

  23. swan101 permalink
    October 11, 2019 3:58 pm

    Reblogged this on ECO-ENERGY DATABASE.

  24. Adam Gallon permalink
    October 13, 2019 7:22 pm

    Another dam will be built. Some of the drawbacks are mentioned. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/our-river-was-like-a-god-how-dams-and-chinas-might-imperil-the-mekong/ar-AAIGPKQ?ocid=spartandhp

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