Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges are known to be a famous tourist attraction for its
beautiful scenery, located in northeastern China along the Yangzi
River. The Yangzi River runs 3700 miles long, being the third longest
river in the world after the Nile and Amazon Rivers. The Qutang Gorge,
the Wuxia Gorge, and the Xiling Gorge are the three Yangzi River
gorges that make up the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges are not only
famous for its scenery, but also its disastrous flooding. Within a
century, five major floods have occurred killing over 300,000 people
living in cities along the bank of the river. This is due to the
constant sediment deposits along the river, causing the river bed to
continuously rise six metres to seventeen metres higher than the
plains.
In 1992, the Chinese National People's Congress approved the project
of constructing a dam at the upper and middle reaches of the Yangzi
River by the Xiling Gorge. The purpose was to adjust the water flow of
the Yangzi River in hope to prevent more serious flooding. The dam is
expected to be the largest hydroelectric project in the world, being
185 metres (606 feet) high and 1,983 metres (6500 feet) broad, with a
reservoir that will fill a level of 175 metres above sea level.[1] The
17-year construction of the dam is estimated to use 10.8 million tons
of cement, 1.9 million tons of rolled steel, and 1.6 tons of timber,
costing a total of approximately $900 billion yuan.[2] Since then,
construction has been undertaken for the Three Gorges dam. But many
issues have been raised concerning the many aspects of the project. As
a Chinese journalist, Dai Qing, calls it, "the Three G...
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... scenery
instead of staying in this everlasting controversy.
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[1]Webmaster, The Three Gorges Dam. (U.S.A.: Imperial Tours, 2001)
[2]Ibid.
[3]Bruce Kennedy, China's Three Gorges Dam. (U.S.A.: CNN.com, 2002)
[4]Webmaster, The Three Gorges Dam. (U.S.A.: Imperial Tours, 2001)
[5]Webmaster, The Three Gorges Dam. (U.S.A.: Imperial Tours, 2001)
[6]Ibid.
[7]Ibid.
[8]Mark Kordich and Kevin Nickels, Taming the Yangtze. (U.S.A.:
journalism.sfsu.edu, 2001)
[9]Ibid.
[10]Mark Kordich and Kevin Nickels, Taming the Yangtze. (U.S.A.:
journalism.sfsu.edu, 2001)
[11]Webmaster, The Three-Gorges Project. (U.S.A.: Embassy of China in
the United States, 2002)
[12]Bruce Kennedy, China's Three Gorges Dam. (U.S.A.: CNN.com, 2002)
In December 1936 the United States Department of the Interior authorized the Lower Colorado River Authority to construct a low dam at the site of an old crossing on the river known as Marshall Ford. Marshall Ford Dam was completed in 1941 through the collaboration of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) of Texas. The original purpose of the dam was to prevent floods from devastating Austin, TX. The capital city had substandard heavy damage from previous floods since its establishment in 1846. Soon bureaucrats came together to create the Colorado River Project, wanting to create a series of dams along the Colorado River to create hydroelectric power and serve to control floods and droughts. With Buchanan dam well under way with a total of six planned Marshall Ford was the only dam designed primarily for flood control and the only dam in which USBR oversaw construction. With money scarce there was debate over the final height dam and it reservoir capacity. This issue resolves itself with the flood of 1938. Once completed Marshall Ford Dam would flood 65 miles of the Colorado to form Lake Travis, creating the largest of the seven reservoirs known as the Highland Lakes.
The one feature common to the Hoover Dam, The Mississippi river and the three gorges dam is that they all tried to control nature’s swings, specifically in the form of flooding. Before the Hoover dam was built, the Colorado river “used to flood spectacularly…but after 1900 the Colorado provoked a vehement response” (Pg 177). The response was simple, but large. The U.S. built several large dams, including the Hoover dam, on the Colorado to decrease its flooding and increase power and irrigation. Unfortunately, just as human control of the Colorado’s flooding increased, its organisms and habitats were detrimentally influenced, and the water became more and more salinated.
The negative aspects of Glen Canyon Dam greatly exceed the positive aspects. The dam’s hydroelectric power supply is only three percent of the total power used by the six states that are served by the facility. There is a surplus of power on the Colorado Plateau and with more and more power-plants being created in the western hemisphere, Glen Canyon Dam’s power is not needed (Living Rivers: What about the hydroelectric loss). Although the ‘lake’ contains twenty seven million acre feet of water, one and a half million acre feet of water are lost yearly due to evaporation and seepage into the sandstone banks surrounding the ‘lake’ (Living Rivers: What about the water supply?). The loss of that much “water represents millions, even billions of dollars” (Farmer 183). If the government were to employ more water efficient irrigation practices, as much as five million acre feet of water per year could be saved.
In the 1898 mayoral election, Frederick Eaton was elected as mayor of Los Angeles; and appointed his associate, William Mulholland- the superintendent of the newly created Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Eaton and Mulholland envisioned a region of Los Angeles that would make Los Angeles become the turn of the century. The limiting factor of that regions growth was water supply. Eaton and Mulholland realized that the Owens Valley had a large amount of runoff from the Sierra Nevada, and a gravity-fed aqueduct that could deliver the Owens water to Los Angeles. During the early 1900’s the United States Bureau of Reclamation made plans to build an irrigation system to help the farmers of the Owens Valley. By 1905, through purchases, and alleged intimidation and bribery, Los Angeles purchased enough water rights to enable construction of the aqueduct.
Throughout California there is a total of 1,404 dams(KQED). They can be small structures just holding back rivers and streams, or as big as lakes and reservoirs, supplying water to up to 20 different counties. Oroville dam is the largest dam in California and is located just outside of Oroville County near Sacramento.
The use of turbines from dams to provide power was a brilliant idea until water levels started running lower than normal. The water waste from humanity is directly contributing to portions of it, aside from drought conditions affected by pollution, widespread fires battled, and more adds to the depletion thereof. When humanity is relying on power provided from dams to handle the demand, they are essentially relying on the assumption that water levels will always be there to provide it. The Hoover Dam provides power to the southwestern portion of the USA that has a large number of people.
Has it ever crossed your mind that the oldest and only surviving of the Seven Wonders of the World was built in times that predated any modern technology? Doesn't it seem almost impossible? There are three Pyramids of Giza, the first one was commissioned in Ancient Egypt by the Pharaoh Khufu, around the year 2540 BCE. They are located in Giza, Egypt, and take on this name. Standing 488 ft tall, they were once the tallest buildings in the world, for many hundreds of years. The site is one of the most famous worldwide, receiving millions of tourists each year. The Pyramid of Giza is extremely significant because of its enormous scale and the many people needed to construct it, along with the methods used to do so.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, John Muir, a naturalist, and Marsden Manson, an engineer for the city of San Francisco, engaged in a heated debate over the construction of a dam in Hetchy Hetchy Valley. Muir wanted to preserve nature for the future, so he objected to the dam because he felt it would destroy the beauty of the area. On the other hand, Manson believed building a dam would provide water and electricity to the thousands of people who lived in the city of San Francisco, and this would preserve the well being of the human race for the future. Both men had good points and arguments to support their views; however, in the end you have to look out for your own kind. If there is a choice about the well being of the human race or nature, I believe there is only once choice to be made – the future support of the human race.
In the year 221 B.C.E., there was a great ruler over the Ch'in kingdom in China, named Shih Huang Ti. Shih was power hungry and wanted more land so he gathered his army and captured the surrounding kingdoms. As the ruler of so many kingdoms he became "the first emperor" of China. Shih showed his tyranny when he burned all history books to insure that his people and future generations would only remember him and none of the earlier rulers. He had a strong army but the fierce tribes north of China, the Mongols and the Huns, were stronger. These nomadic tribes would come into China and steal crops and animals and then destroy everything left behind.
.... But this wall must be passable; it must have an opening that anyone can pass through. But the only people that will find the door through are the ones that are willing to be open themselves!” There are so many views, ideas, and aspects of wall due to its extreme complexity, culturally and archeologically. Everything can be linked to everything! This is the ultimate anthropological truth. The Great Wall is truly great.
Gittings, John. The Changing Face of China: From Mao to market. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Confusion, embarrassment, and guilt can all be found throughout João Guimarães Rosa's short story "The Third Bank of the River." Rosa forces the reader to analyze his words and delve deeply into the hidden meanings behind them. Upon first glance, a story unfolds of a father who seemingly abandons his family and chooses to live out the remainder of his life rowing a small boat back and forth along a river. There are circumstances leading up to this behavior, which new insight to the author's psychological meaning.
Hoobler, Dorothy, Thomas Hoobler, and Michael Kort, comps. China: Regional Studies Series. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Globe Fearon, 1993. 174-177.
IYER, R.I. (19X9) "Large Dams: The Right Perspective.' Economic and Political Weekly, 14, 107- 116.
The paragraphs below will prove that the construction and presence of dams always has and will continue to leave devastating effects on the environment around them. Firstly, to understand the thesis people must know what dams are. A dam is a barrier built across a water course to hold back or control water flow. Dams are classified as either storage, diversion or detention. As you could probably notice from it's name, storage dams are created to collect or hold water for periods of time when there is a surplus supply.