Recreation and Power vs. the Environment
The emptying of Lake Powell has now been an issue for years. The sierra club strongly supports the draining of the lake for environmental issues. One side of the debate argues for recreation, water and power supplied from the lake. The other argues for the saving of an environment that is now being destroyed by the existence of the lake. Both sides carry strong support, and the debate sees no clear end coming any time soon.
Lake Powell was created in the 1950’s with the building of the Glen Canyon Dam, as part of the Colorado River Restoration Project. This dam was built to support a power plant to power parts of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, and to ensure the steady water supply of the Colorado. It filled Glen Canyon with water. The lake now crosses into both states and is a recreation area for sightseers, cliff divers, swimmers, fisherman, and boaters. The making of the lake brought about the building of the city of Page, which raises 500 million dollars per year of tourism revenue. This man-made lake now delivers power and water to over 22 million people. But does this power come at a cost? Lake Powell has come as such a cost that does not prove worthwhile. Its draining will help to fix the ecosystem, and the state of the southwest.
The water in Lake Powell is now dropping at an enormous rate. The rivers that feed the lake cannot sustain the levels they once had. The lake has dropped over 100 feet. Creating this lake made a water mass that was very susceptible to evaporation; it evaporates at a rate of a million and a half acre feet per year. This would be stopped with the draining of the lake, and letting the river be restored to its original state. With the making of the damn, very important fish and plant habitat was destroyed, some of these being important and endangered species. It also prevented the flow of fish to different part of the river, as there are now 11 dams along the rivers.
Tule Lake Committee. Kinenhi: Reflections on Tule Lake. San Francisco: The Tule Lake Committee, 1980.
The positive aspects of ‘Lake’ Powell are few yet noteworthy. Glen Canyon Dam’s hydroelectric power-plant generates one thousand three hundred mega watts of electricity at full operation. That is enough power to supply three hundred fifty thousand homes. Glen Canyon Dam holds twenty seven million acre feet of water, which is equivalent to twice the Colorado River’s annual flow (Living Rivers: What about the hydroelectric loss?). One of the most valuable reasons for the dam to remain active is that “Lake Powell generates four hundred fifty five million dollars per year in tourist revenue, without this cash inflow, gas-and-motel towns . . . would undoubtedly wilt, and surrounding counties and states would lose a substantial tax base” (Farmer 185). These positive aspects are of no surprise considering they are the reason dams are built in the first place.
...ion that the proposal to drain Lake Powell is not a very good one " First off two Club members in page, AZ quit the club over the Lake Powell proposal" (www.glencanyon.net/club). The writer thinks that the board is wrong to propose such an idea "Lake Powell violated the club's policy that major decisions should start at the ground and work their way up" (www.glencanyon.net/club).
This pamphlet wants to educate people as to the uses of Glen Canyon. The dangers and the fun that can be had on the lake that was made by the Glen Canyon Dam. “Some of the shoreline around Lake Powell is loose and can slip and fall”. (Glen canyon Dam) warning the public as to what to watch for. The pamphlet goes on to say; “Dangerous sections of Lake Powell’s shoreline are too numerous to mark and can appear quickly after a change in the water level or after rainy weather”. (Glen Canyon Dam) The author is saying that not every dangerous area can be marked. By writing this the author is ensuring safety against lawsuits.
Humans have interacted with our planet and its glorious sights and resources in both negative and positive ways; some ways have a negative effect on our land but a positive effect on our economic progression and visa versa. Unfortunately the Cuyahoga River has been made famous because of its complications that have been caused, which has created not only economical problems but environmental problems all throughout its troubled history and is still being fixed to this day.
Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.
In Refuge, Terry Tempest Williams blames a natural disaster—the overflowing of the Great Salt Lake in Utah--for the destruction of the place she loved most in the world, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. What Williams attempts to explain, however, is that this disaster wasn’t really “natural” at all. Refuge is critiqued by some for being over-dramatized, and Terry Tempest Williams is often criticized for blaming the world and others for the loss of the bird refuge. In fact, Williams is correct when she says that humans are responsible for the flooding of Salt Lake, which was caused by the construction of a railroad causeway that split Great Salt Lake into two bodies of water. The author is not a reckless finger-pointer, she is a realist.
The San Joaquin River Project was a plan completed in 2009 made to recreate San Joaquin River, which was dried up after dams were built in 1942. The San Joaquin River restoration is to bring back water flows from the San Joaquin river to the Friant Dam, and to revive the salmon and other fish population. There are two articles debating whether they either agree or disagree with the project. I chose the article, “River Plan Too Fishy For My Taste Buds”. This article came from The Fresno Bee newspaper, which correspondingly means it came from Fresno. The type of people who live in Fresno are farmers, workers who work for other people, democrats, and people who care more about jobs rather than the environment. I agree with this article from The Fresno Bee because I believe Bill McEwen, the author of this article, is the better expert because of his credentials and achievements. I will be using the article “River Restoration Project Offers a Sprinkling of Hope” by Daniel Weintraub to back up my argument.
Buckeye Lake is a very important place to a lot of people in central Ohio. After the Ohio Canal was shut down in 1894 the lake became a state park, with the lake itself covering 4000 acres and having thirty miles of shoreline (Buckeye Lake, para. 12). The lake became a vacation spot for families across central Ohio, looking for a day or weekend of leisure, earning it the nickname “Playground of Ohio”, a place close to home where they could swim and play in the water. It became even more popular when cottages, hotels, businesses, and even an amusement park starting popping up along the banks of the
Water is essential to life. By being so important it is crucial to keep it maintained and preserved. Our water supply is affected by environmental, economic, and legal issues. In Oklahoma water is very sacred to its people especially to Native Americans. Both Choctaw and Chickasaw nations are suing the state of Oklahoma for the regulatory authority over Sardis Lake and the water resources it holds. The Choctaw and Chickasaw nations deserve the rights over Sardis Lake because it is their main water supply and they own the rights through the treaty of the Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830.
“… The difference between the present reservoir, with its silent sterile shores and debris-choked side canyons, and the original Glen Canyon, is the difference between death and life. Glen Canyon was alive. Lake Powell is a graveyard.” – Edward Abbey, “The Damnation of a Canyon”, Beyond the Wall
The water levels in the Colorado River continue to fall as the seven states that rely on it for water grow. With this growth, we must stop wasting water or we will see the water supply drop to even more alarming levels. Some states have started to implement rewards to residents who remove their grass lawns or put strict rules on their water usage, however, even if we slow our consumption and waste, we are using our water at an unsustainable rate. Global warming, in combination with our current drought, has made this an issue for our generation and not the next.
Although, the Reign of Terror was seen as a way to let the revolution live and was well supported it was not justified. Because the internal threats propagated radicalism, the external threats raged and became stronger, and the methods became chaotic the Reign of Terror extended its stay in France until the death of the powerful leader Robespierre. The Reign of Terror was an outreach to gain rights but during this period they were taken away until the fateful day of Robespierre’s death ending the Terror.
In Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe writes under the guise of a shipwrecked man who establishes his own empire while alone on an island. In fact, the novel was originally published without Defoe 's name attached. Instead, it was presented as a true story as written by Crusoe to tell the world of his adventures. Robinson Crusoe is also known to have some very close parallels with John Locke 's Second Treatise of Government. In fact, some interpret it as a simply Locke 's ideas repackaged into a work of fiction. However, Defoe is also using the novel to point out some potential problems with what Locke wrote, instead of strictly adhering to them. Since Defoe labeled his novel as a true story, he intended his use of the ideas of Locke to be interpreted
As I read the excerpt from Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" in "Oronooko" I found myself confused with the point that Defoe was trying to make. Allison, I agree with you completely when you say that the actions of Crusoe "sound kind of funny." I too feel that Crusoe is an example of the downfall of man. First reading the