Monday, November 14, 2005

Media worse than WWF on dam reporting

Swedish radio news this morning said that World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in a report (no referance and report not found on web) tells about 400 dams under construction. The news was that WWF´s view is that, especially in East Asia, these dams destroys the environment. As usual the reporter did not ask critical questions about environmental impact of alternative sources of electricity (coal or nuclear) , nor did he tell listners that electricity promote child survival as shown by L. Wang L in Health Policy. 2003 Sep;65(3):277-99. His study on 60 poor countries conclude: "The analysis on mortality determination shows that at the national level access to electricity, incomes, vaccination in the first year of birth, and public health expenditure significantly reduce child mortality. The electricity effect is large and independent of the income effect."

I note with interest that WWF lately carefuly state that they are not against dams as such, but this moderation is jet to reach the Swedish Public Service Radio. One wonders what turns good reporters into unprofessional promotion as soon as they repore about environmental impacts of dams. I thought the dam "myth bubble" had burst already.

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