Meltdown in Tibet: China's Reckless Destruction of Ecosystems from the Highlands of Tibet to the Deltas of Asia

“An engrossing look at the devastation wrought in Tibet by the Chinese government, and the cascading environmental problems that follow.” ―Lester R. Brown, President, Earth Policy Institute and author of Plan B 4.0

Tibetans have experienced waves of genocide since the 1950s. Now they are facing ecocide. The Himalayan snowcaps are in meltdown mode, due to climate change—accelerated by a rain of black soot from massive burning of coal and other fuels in both China and India. The mighty rivers of Tibet are being dammed by Chinese engineering consortiums to feed the mainland’s thirst for power, and the land is being relentlessly mined in search of minerals to feed China’s industrial complex. On the drawing board are plans for a massive engineering project to divert water from Eastern Tibet to water-starved Northern China. Ruthless Chinese repression leaves Tibetans powerless to stop the reckless destruction of their sacred land, but they are not the only victims of this campaign: the nations downstream from Tibet rely heavily on rivers sourced in Tibet for water supply, and for rich silt used in agriculture. This destruction of the region’s environment has been happening with little scrutiny until now. In Meltdown in Tibet, Michael Buckley turns the spotlight on the darkest side of China’s emergence as a global super power.

“Meltdown in Tibet is an instructive book on the roof of the world. Its documentation is impeccable, and it deals with Tibet seen from a rarely tackled angle: its role in world climate.” ―Forbes.com

“Buckley renders an important service in this outspoken book by . . . [documenting] the calamitous consequences of China’s unsparing usurpation of Tibet’s natural resources.” ―The Washington Post

© 2024 St. Martin's Press (Ebook): 9781137474728

Release date

Ebook: 4 September 2024