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Thursday, March 1, 2018
Three Gorges Dam
Background History
As a nation always hungry for power, China has looked for energy sources for decades. Hydroelectric power has risen in popularity compared to other renewable energy solutions. Many Chineese officals pushed for the creation of a large dam as a power source and a flood controller. Although many engineers criticized the idea as did environmentalists, the dam construction began in 1994. The construction faced many delays but was finally finished in 2012. Since then many foreign officals have publicly criticized the negative impacts of the dam until in 2011 when China publicy admited faults in its $40+ billion project.
How It Works
The dam captures the kinetic energy of falling water and mechanical energy by turning turbines. The energy in the turbines is then transferred into electrical energy. The Three Gorges Dam also has gates that can let water in and out, which is used to control flooding downstream. Although the Three Gorges Dam is set up like a normal dam, its impacts are far from it.
Impacts It Has On Society
Pros
Provides 22,500 megawatts of electricity (8 times more than the Hoover Dam)
Cons
Causes earth quakes, landslides, and wide-spread flooding
Displaced over 1.4 million people
Destroyed countless ancient artifacts and precious landscapes
Helps to spread waterborne pathogens
Hurts anti-pollution efforts
Works Cited
“How Hydropower Works.” Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company , 2018, www.wvic.com/content/how_hydropower_works.cfm.
Hvistendahl, Mara. “China's Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe?” Scientific American, NATURE AMERICA, INC., 25 Mar. 2008, www.scientificamerican.com/article/chinas-three-gorges-dam-disaster/.
Wines, Michael. “China Admits Problems With Three Gorges Dam.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 May 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/world/asia/20gorges.html.
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