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About the Three Gorges Dam - they seriously seem to believe that it will hold up over geologic time. That is a preposterous idea.

Cracks HAVE ALREADY been found in it - and it is not even full yet!

It was built astraddle a geologic fault, so an earthquake is not at all unlikely to destroy it within our lifetime.

And there is another thing, this is however more of a theoretical risk though - some believe that massive weights of water can either cause an earthquake, make it more likely, or make one occur earlier. Such as the one that occurred near Oroville, California, in 1974, shortly after the dam there was filled.

Essentially, the Three Gorges Dam is a bet placed by the Chinese government. If they win the bet, they get some energy for a time, and if they lose the bet, well, they lose everything between the dam and Shanghai.

There were many who thought that China's energy needs would be better served by perhaps three smaller dams across the Yellow River. It's called the "Yellow River" because of the very large amount of sediment it carries - how long do you think the dam will take to silt up and become useless? Decades? Centuries? Geologic time?

And China has a terrible record as far as building dams that later burst. The worst record in the world, in fact.

The decision to go ahead and build the dam was made at the very top levels of the communist Chinese government, right after the Tianaman Square protests, as a display of government control, mostly, is what many believe.

And, when it does go, China will lose everything between the dam to Shanghai.

Things will be a lot different then. China will change from an economic powerhouse to a beggar nation overnight.

Oh, there is another thing I forgot to mention - the Three Gorges Dam is very, very far from where China needs the energy. The electricity produced will have to be transported great distances.

Another problem that I didn't point out above - a lot of China's best farmland will be flooded. That's good for the United States and other food producing nations, though. China will need a LOT of food to feed that huge and growing population! But, will they be able to pay for it?

And, as a matter of intellectual honesty, I really ought to point out the positive effect of the dam - it is not ALL bad.

The Yellow River has historically flooded over and over, costing thousands of lives. The Three Gorges Dam, if successful, will end that for a time.

Like I have said, study the Japanese bubble of 1990. Now think of it 5X with a non-democratic government willing to kill its own if opposed. It is the same huge over-inflation of dangerous capital, and will result in a rebellion that will lead to millions dead. Most of rural China split from the government, the government will send the troops in, and then the urban population will rebel. Get ready for the big burst.

And, when it does go, China will lose everything between the dam to Shanghai. Things will be a lot different then. China will change from an economic powerhouse to a beggar nation overnight.

When it goes, you know it will be blamed on a pre-emptive attack by Taiwan, supported by the US. That will be real ugly.