One in four hydropower project sites along the Himalayan Rivers are likely to face severe damage from earthquake-triggered landslides, according to a research. #UttarakhandDisaster #earthquake @nivedita_Him @yamunajiye @Upadhyay_Cavita @Indian_Rivers @hridayeshjoshi

The research was conducted by researchers from the University of Potsdam, Germany, who compiled damages to 41 hydropower projects after Nepal’s 2015 #earthquake, and used that data to estimate earthquake-triggered damages to projects in other parts of #Himalayas. @yamunajiye
The model developed by the research team took into account the combined effect of ground shaking (Peak Ground acceleration) & river steepness (Mχ) and was applied to projects in Indian, Nepalese and Bhutanese #Himalayas.
@yamunajiye @hridayeshjoshi @nivedita_Him @Upadhyay_Cavita
The findings indicate that more than 10% of Himalayan rivers may be unsuitable for hydropower infrastructure given high probabilities of high co-seismic damages and ~25% of Hydropower projects are located along these reaches. #UttarakhandDisaster
#earthquake
The study points to an urgent need to re-evaluate hydropower development in the Himalayas. The model used in the study would also help in making a more accurate assessment of risks at locations for potential hydropower plants. #UttarakhandDisaster
Nepal lost at least 20% of it's hydropower capacity in the 2015 Gorkha #earthquake which killed nearly 9000 people and damaged more than 31 hydropower projects. It was not the ground shaking that damaged these HPPs. Landslides triggered by earthquake caused maximum losses.
These hydropower projects survived the earthquake but got wiped out by the debris highlighting that sites located along steep rivers with towering sidewalls were prone to becoming unstable during strong seismic ground shaking.
The study calls for an urgent need to assess the vulnerability of hydropower infrastructure to the risk of nature's extreme events.
To assess individual HPP sites, the results need to be refined by detailed geomorphological seismic hazard appraisals, as well as risk analyses that include site- specific economic considerations such as HPP life-cycle cost assessments. @yamunajiye
HPP hazard assessment needs to consider the seismic and geomorphic setting conjunctively. To this end, this knowledge will be required to mitigate the impacts of #earthquake on water - energy security in the future.
#UttarakhandDisaster #Tapovan

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Patriotism is an interesting concept in that it’s excepted to mean something positive to all of us and certainly seen as a morally marketable trait that can fit into any definition you want for it.+


Tolstoy, found it both stupid and immoral. It is stupid because every patriot holds his own country to be the best, which obviously negates all other countries.+

It is immoral because it enjoins us to promote our country’s interests at the expense of all other countries, employing any means, including war. It is thus at odds with the most basic rule of morality, which tells us not to do to others what we would not want them to do to us+

My sincere belief is that patriotism of a personal nature, which does not impede on personal and physical liberties of any other, is not only welcome but perhaps somewhat needed.

But isn’t adherence to a more humane code of life much better than nationalistic patriotism?+

Göring said, “people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”+

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I think a plausible explanation is that whatever Corbyn says or does, his critics will denounce - no matter how much hypocrisy it necessitates.


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He's wrong to prioritise Labour Party members over the public:

He's wrong to prioritise the public over Labour Party