Case Study: The Three Gorges Dam Project

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China, established by Moa Zedong in 1952, is a water diversion project that would divert 44.8 billion cubic meters of water annually to the drier north of China ("South-to-North Water"). The project would link China’s four main rivers the Yangtze, Yellow River, Huaihe and Haihe. China plans on doing this by constructing three diversion routes moving through the south to north ("South-to-North Water"). It would stretch across the central, eastern and western parts of the country ("South-to-North Water"). This project is expected to cost around $62 billion dollars and take around 50 more years to complete ("South-to-North Water"). By trying to divert the rivers and create an equal distribution of water, the project raises many environmental concerns but has many positives. This paper will evaluate the different perspectives of the ecomodernist and resilience theory. This will be shown by analyzing each perspective, evaluating the different concerns and analyzing how each perspective would respond to the water diversion project.

The article “Down go the dams” by Jane C.Marks aim to provide an informative view on the current pending issue on Dams. The article starts out my mentioning the important nature of dams in our society. For example, Jane C.Marks states that today about 800,000 dams operate worldwide as well as the fact that most were built in the past century, primarily after World War II. Furthermore, the author lays down informative facts about dams such as the fact that dams control flooding and their reservoirs provide a reliable supply of water for irrigation, drinking and recreation which are all very important to society. In an economic standpoint, although it is very high maintenance dams provide jobs for people. The

The Grand Coulee Dam, located in Eastern Washington, was one of controversy, risk, and a point of no return. While the water captured made the desert area blossom in agriculture and it powered some large cities, it created a sense of accomplishment, that humans can control Mother Nature. While many people were very excited for this new construction – which gives power and resources - at the time, some thought it should not be allowed, they are not proud of containing the Columbia River. In this analysis, I am going to focus on the economic and social effects that the Grand Coulee Dam created in its build.

The Three Gorges Dam is an unfinished project which will be the largest dam ever constructed on the planet Earth. It is situated in China on the third largest river in the world – the Yangtze. The dam has been debated over since the 1919 and is still a hot topic of debate because of its many pros and cons. In 1994 construction began on the dam, and it is expected to be finished by the year 2009. The massive dimensions of the dam are mind boggling and its functions – if the dam actually works – are truly remarkable; however, with such a large structure also comes difficulties, sacrifices, and cynics. The goal of this essay is to lend an understanding of the dam itself, the prospective benefits of

“When people find it easy to imagine an event, they overestimate the likelihood that it will actually occur” (Gilbert, 2006, p.19.) Gilbert explains that this causes us to be overoptimistic about our futures and thus changes what we do in order to be happy. Young people imagine traveling the world, starting a successful business or becoming a star. Later on in one’s life they may realize that they do not have the funds to travel the world, the talent to become a star, or even the desire to start their own business. Perhaps they come to the conclusion that they would be happier starting a family or writing a book. Humans have an undeniable want to control. The reason somebody imagines the future is so they can do something about it (Gilbert, 2006, p. 21.) We imagine a future better than today so we can take the actions necessary to get to the better tomorrow. I imagined college being a whole lot better than high school. The freedom and the separation from my parents was something I wanted. So in order to get here I studied hard in high school, strove for a good ACT score, and applied to universities. The actions I took in high school were in order to control the future. Gilbert answers the question of “Why should we want to control our futures?” “It feels good to do so-period. Impact is rewarding. Mattering makes us happy. The act of steering one’s boat down the river of time is a source of pleasure, regardless of one’s port of call” (Gilbert,

When deciding whether of not to support the construction of a new dam, we have to use the process of cooperating, communicating, and thinking to come to a logical conclusion that is best for this world. Cooperating is important because it allows people to work together to come to a final decision by using everyones knowledge. Communication is also needed to tell others your opinion and to share the pros and cons of creating a dam. Lastly, thinking like a scientist is greatly needed. When making a decision like this, bias must be out of the opinions given and facts are needed because creating a dam can greatly affect the

Fears of polluted air and water, and the extinction of wildlife species due to contamination have overtaken the western world. In an excerpt, titled “The Filth They Breathe in China,” taken from American historian, Michael Auslin’s book, the author focuses on the nation where, due to its rapid industrial growth, these effects of pollution are most prominent, China. In his article, Auslin, uses anecdotes, uses strong diction, and uses appeals to logic and credibility in order to capture the enormity of China’s pollution problem.

Dam projects can serve many purposes. They compensate for varying amounts of water that nature may send down a river at a given time, or they may serve as a resource to generate hydropower for the local population. The construction of these complicated feats of engineering is an expensive, time consuming task. For whatever reason a dam is built, it will almost always pay for itself in the energy it produces or

More often than not, the outcomes of events that occur in a person’s life is the product of the idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy. It is that which “occurs when a person’s expectations of an event make the outcome more likely to occur than would otherwise have been true” (Adler and Towne, Looking Out, Looking In 66). Or restated, as Henry Ford once put it, “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right!” This brief research paper touches on the two types of self-fulfilling prophecies, those that are self-imposed and those that are imposed by others. Additionally, it gives a discussion on how great of an influence it is in each person’s life, both positively and negatively, and how it consequently helps to mold

11. What was an important economic goal associated with the building of the Three Gorges Dam?

Hello I am Michelle Diaz currently a freshman at Mount Rainier High School and in my contemporary global issues class we have been learning about the issue of the Dakota Access Pipeline. I am writing to inform you about the issue with the pipeline that has been going on. Since December 2014 there has been an ongoing disagreement between the Energy Transfer Partners and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (also including other native tribes). This disagreement is due to the fact that the oil companies are pushing to build an oil pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois making the pipeline stretch 1,172 miles. According to the oil company this project would decrease U.S reliance on foreign oil and create thousands of jobs for americans. Though this may be true the pipeline would also be crossing sacred sites that are culturally important to the natives and

Small changes that lead to bigger changes are being made. The book Collapse tells us about changes that China has made to change the environmental problem at hand. In 1973 China established Leading Group for Environmental Protection, which later became State

At first these plans along with an extremely ingenious propaganda campaign stirred great optimism and productivity within the Chinese people, but as years went by the initial flare and excitement went out and few of these promises, reforms and goals had been reached. In some cases the promises were lies. The real actions of the Communist party showed quite a different picture than the lie of democracy that it was feeding the people. The new government never was a democratic one. As a matter of fact it was a dictatorship controlled by the China’s Communist Party (CCP). Throughout the years the communist government consistently and cruelly suppressed any attempts for the country’s democratization.

One of China’s best successes has in turn been one of its biggest downfalls. One of the main problems is China’s greatest success which has been its phenomenal economic growth. This is one of the main drivers of the current environmental problems that the country faces. Factories dump pollutants into the air and water. It is difficult to see the Chinese government making the significant sacrifices required to improve their environment if it means slowing down their economic growth.

What is the Dakota Access Pipeline? The Dakota Access Pipeline is a 1,172 mile underground state of the art 30” pipeline extending from the Bakken/Three Forks production area in North Dakota to Pakota, Illinois. The pipeline will transfer oil from North Dakota to other refining markets. The pipeline will run underground and has passed federal safety requirements. They claim the pipeline is safer than most modes of transportations and will be very beneficial for Americans.