Wac Essay:Should China build more hydroelectric dams?

China Should not build Hydroelectric dams. After 18 long years of construction, the 3 gorges dam was completed in 2012 on July 4th. It took over 30 million dollars to build. The dam was an attempt by China to go green, but many people inside and outside of China think if it was really worth it. Although the 3 gorges dam has produced a lot of clean electricity, its consequences outweigh the benefits. On of the reasons the dam was built was to reduce the risk of flooding, but it also increased the risk of landslides by 70 percent. China wants to build 4 more dams along the Jinsha River; a river flowing into the Yangtze River. This would cause even more problems. The three gorges dam alone has damaged the ecosystem, affected peoples' lives, and caused the landscape to change. With four more, the dams would be disaster areas. The building of the dam also affected people. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to relocate.

One of the few costs that the dam has caused was that the historical sites and architectural were lost either due to rising water, or the building of the gorges. These structures represented some of the first Chinese cultures including the Ba civilization. While working at the dam excavation site, workers found items like animal statues, bronze masks, and more items that resembled the Ba culture. The chalk wall is another site at the entrances of the Gorges. Parts of the wall were either covered by the water line, or taken out of the wall and brought to a museum.

 Landslides can cause big waves and floods because of the mud and debris that hits the water. With landslides increased by 70 percent, the dam technically does the opposite of its purpose. Although it is true that after the dam was built, flooding decreased, it is also true that landslides can cause floods and big waves. Some of the floods may be too much for the dam to handle, and this would result in disaster. The landslides can also easily destroy anything in their way and flood or erode river banks. Logging and construction along the reservoir banks is causing severe erosion, and landslides could increase the erosion even more. China would also lose plants and trees to the landslides. Because China gets two-thirds of its energy from coal, it is considered the world's largest polluter, and by losing trees and plants, more pollution would arise. One dam has caused the landslides to go up 70%; if four more were built, the landslides would get rid of almost all wildlife and change the landscape beyond repair. It would also cause the river to flood and the banks to get too wide. This would lead to the government spending more money on the repairs that they did on the dams.

The main issue that the gorges causes is pollution to the river and the wildlife. Factories and flooded cities have polluted the river's water. This damages the food chain and China's source of food. Along with this the construction of the river have caused severe erosion, enough to raise the chance of land slides by 70 percent. The effect of the landslides can create waves big enough to flood cities. This is a result of the sediment that is left in the reservoir due to the landslides. This harms those around the area.

   China should not build Hydro electric dams. The three gorges dam alone has done a lot of damage and has come with tons of consequences. It was also really expensive. If China builds 4 more, there is going to be increased consequences, more people will be forced to move, and it will be way too expensive. The ecosystem and landscape will also probably change and this could lead to it reshaping of the landscape, and like they had to do before, they would also have to spend more money on protecting the historical sites. Another thing is that with more damage, they would also be spending money on reshaping the landscape and protecting the wildlife, since the dams are attempts to go green. Wildlife can also get harmed, and it might even cause certain species to lessen in numbers. With 4 dams, especially in the same river, the river will most likely get really wide and the landslides would probably ruin the river and the landscape. More people would also get injured or die if they are forced to move into places that the river affects. The benefits of not building these dams are that more people will be able to keep their homes, the ecosystem would be safe, less landslides, and much more. Another important thing is that historians wouldn't lose more artifacts or sites that they can use to learn about the past. The 3 gorges dam alone took over 30 million dollars to make, this means that the overall total amount of money they would be spending on all 4 dams would probably be over 120 million dollars. The number of consequences and expenses of building the dams highly outweigh the benefits of building the dams, which is why China should not build Hydro Electric dams.