Environmental Science

The Three Gorges Dam was built in China after a devastating flood killed many people and crops as well as destroying many villages. They wanted to make sure to do everything in their power to prevent that from happening again. Building this dam was a really good idea in theory, but I feel that the huge risks weren’t worth it.
Even though I really don’t agree with this dam being built, there are still a few pros in this matter. This dam will hopefully prevent flooding and also help to create energy. It will also help to attract many people to move or just visit there because there is now less of a chance of disaster. If this ends up working out it can not only be seen from space but it will also be a wonder of Chinese culture. In my opinion these pros aren’t strong enough to go along with building this dam.
I feel that the pros list is decent but the cons definitely outweigh them. This is a very high risk and costly project. Many antiquities and historical landmarks will be lost underwater. When the dam is filled with water they are concerned the dam may collapse because of the weight and cause more damages then if it were to flood again.   If the dam doesn’t break, over the years silt will begin to buildup. The removal process for silt will be another costly project on top of the dam.   The dam is straddling a fault line which is extremely dangerous for the builders as well as the fifteen million people being relocated. After looking at all of these risks it really doesn’t seem worth the risks.
So many people have made livings off of small businesses they had in the villages. By removing the villages people’s lives will be taken away who may be too old to start over some place new. I feel that the cons are very risky and unfair for the people of these villages. There are way too many serious cons that I know I wouldn’t want to risk myself and I don’t think the people of the villages should have to go through this either. [continues]

Read full essay