Glen Canyon Dam This extended essay will analyze the rhetoric of authors discussing the Glen Canyon Dam. These authors include: Jeff Rubin (The Place No One Knew), John McPhee (Encounters with the Archdruid), Russell Martin (A story that stands like a dam: Glen Canyon and the struggle for the soul of the West), and Jared Farmer (Glen Canyon dammed: inventing Lake Powell and the Canyon country). There are always two sides to an argument, one for one against. All seven authors write of the Glen
The Debate Over the Glen Canyon Dam Over the years Glen Canyon Dam has been the spark for hundreds of debates, rallies, and protests. These debates have been going on for almost forty years now. The fact is that the dam created a huge lake when it was built, this is what bothers environmentalists. This lake is called Lake Powell and thousands of people depend on its tourists for income. The lake also filled up a canyon called Glen Canyon, some people say it was the most beautiful place on earth
Controversies Over Glen Canyon Dam Glen Canyon Dam is located on the Colorado River near the city of Page in northern Arizona. Construction of the dam started in 1956. It was meant to function as a water storage and a delivery center for the Lover Colorado River Basin to get sufficient water in times of drought. Glen Canyon Bridge was built by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to support the construction of the dam. In 1966, the dam was completed (“Glen Canyon Dam” n.d.). Its reservoir became to be known
they started pouring the concrete for the dam Lake Powell has been a center of controversy. From nature preservationists to ancient ruins advocates the subject has been heated and intense. On the other hand, those who support Lake Powell are just as avid and active in their defense of the reservoir. One of the former, Edward Abbey, sets forth his plea, hoping it does not fall upon deaf ears. Abbey attempts in his article to help the reader visualize Glen Canyon before it was dammed up. He uses a lot
journal, the Earth Island Journal, is said to be a “tree free” print. What is it printed on I wonder? This article focuses on more than Lake Powell; it talks about the 11 dams which are now on the Colorado, and the ecological changes which are taking place along the whole of the river. It uses examples from the Glen Canyon dam to help the argument, but still does not talk about any positive changes in the Colorado River ecosystem.
beautiful places and steal the souls of humans in the process. Abbey uses The Monkey Wrench Gang as an outlet to express his anger towards the industrialization of the American Southwest. To Abbey, who one of the last people to float through Glen Canyon before it dammed, the $400 million “pork barrel” (123, Bishop) reclamation project was the moral equivalent of filling “St. Patrick’s Cathedral with nuclear waste.” (123, Bishop) Abbey uses the characters of Hayduke, Bonnie, Seldom and Doc as metaphors
purpose they should serve.”-Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire “… 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 When you love the Desert Southwest, sometime, somewhere, you will stumble into the writings of Ed Abbey. Like me, Ed was not born there; he discovered
descriptions Abbey paints a beautiful picture that feeds the minds of the readers. " The rolling waters shone like hammered metal, like bronze lamé, each facet reflecting mirror- fashion the blaze in the sky. While glowing dumbly in the east, above the red canyon walls, the new antiphonal response to the glory of the sun." (54). A hero is easily defined as anyone who is admired for their courage, nobility, or exploits. Edward Abbey definitely made his characters heroes through description and character
everybody in this country relies on day to day and couldn't function without it. Every year more and more dams are being built and more man made reservoirs are being created to provide this electricity needed. These dams are very important in my eyes but Edward Abbey carries a different opinion in his writing "The Damnation of a Canyon." Edward Abbey's heart lies in the once beautiful Glen Canyon. He describes all of his wonderful childhood stories of him floating down the river and how all it took
Jeff Leone The Colorado River “Don’t waste that water! Kids in Africa don’t even have water to drink!” Almost every American has heard this saying before. We have heard this because there are water shortages in third world countries like Africa, as seen in the movie “Blue Gold”. But why have we developed this notion that there are only water shortages in third world countries? When in reality, there is a shortage of water right here in our home country. The Colorado River’s water is high in demand
In the beginning of the book Abbey mentions industrial expansion of dams, power lines, power plants, bridges, railroads, pipelines, copper smelters, roads, campgrounds and tourism, mines, cars, and machines. Doc compares industrialism to cancer as he rants, “A planetary industrialism-growing like a cancer. Growth for the
see the true beauty of Glen Canyon, which rivals the Grand Canyon. Glen Canyon, equivalent to one hundred eighty river miles with dozens of side canyons, was flooded for the purpose of power and water resources. ‘Lake’ Powell also generates an enormous cash flow due to the tourism it receives. Although the ‘lake’ has a few reasons to remain in existence, there are many more reasons to drain it. The positive aspects of ‘Lake’ Powell are few yet noteworthy. Glen Canyon Dam’s hydroelectric power-plant
the building of the Glen Canyon Dam. Glen Canyon then filled with water, making what is now a body of water that supplies power to 22 million people, and recreation which brings in over 500 million dollars per year. (Wilke) There are four reasons for this dam: the regulation of water flow to the Colorado River, supplying power to residents of the southwest, area water usage programs, and water sports recreation. (Draining, 2001) The detractors of the existence of this dam use examples of water
1. The large mainstream environmentalism groups started to compromise too much with regulatory agencies and bureaus, starting with the Glen Canyon Dam project. This began an estrangement with the mainstreams that culminated in the rise of more militant groups like Earth First! Glen Canyon represented what was fundamentally wrong with the country's conservation policies: arrogant government officials motivated by a quasireligious zeal to industrialize the natural world, and a diffident bureaucratic
expected. However, the gang narrowly escapes the law numerous times. After finally giving in to the pressures of being good citizens and serving time in jail for destroying public property, the gang reunites for their final destructive mission: Glen Canyon Dam. Edward Abbey, author of The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975), uses language, appearances, actions and opinions to make each character likable to the conservative reader. Abbey uses his strong feelings about the beauty of the Southwest to shape the
The Damnation of a Canyon Not many people know of the used-to-be 150-mile excursion that the Glen Canyon had to offer. Not many people know how to sail a raft down a river for a week. Not many people know how to interact with nature and the animals that come with it. We seem to come from a world that is dependent on time and consumed in money. Edward Abbey is what you would call an extreme environmentalist. He talks about how it was an environmental disaster to place a dam in which to create
What does a man do when the canyon that he so dearly loves is transformed into an unrecognizable monstrosity at the hands of others that have no affinity to the area they have destroyed? Some may bemoan the destruction, yet lament that what’s done is done and move on. Others may voice their concerns with the unsightliness they see. However, rarely does one voice their views in such a poignant and direct way as to grab the attention of the reader and powerfully force the writer’s views into the mind
greatest technological advances of harnessing power such as dams. The Emerald Mile, written by Kevin Fedarko, is a true story based on the adventures of the handful of river guides who were set on breaking a record of the fastest river run through the Grand Canyon. It’s set in about 1983, the year when so much snowmelt flooded the Colorado River Basin that it threatened to overrun the Glen Canyon Dam. Although catastrophe was brewing and the dam was releasing biblical volumes of water, a talented, energetic
1600km (1000miles) of its course, passes through a series of deep gorges and canyons that were created by the eroding force of its current. The river flows in a generally southwestern direction across Colorado into south eastern Utah, where it is joined by its chief tributary, The Green River. After crossing the northern portion of Arizona, the Colorado flows west for 436 km (271 miles) through the majestic Grand Canyon. Then it flows in a generally southerly direction and forms the boundary
Mountain National Park a... ... middle of paper ... ...e Drying of the American Southwest | Center for Immigration Studies." Center for Immigration Studies. Web. "Geography of the Colorado River." About.com Geography. Web. Apr. 2014. MacDonald, Glen. "Water, Climate Change, and Sustainability in the Southwest." Water, Climate Change, and Sustainability in the Southwest. "Divvying Up the Mighty Colorado." NPR. NPR. "Water Shortages Loom in Southwest, Could Trigger Cuts." Water Shortages Loom in