Essay on Hydro-electric Dams Are Not Eco-Friendly

Moving into the next renewable energy, there is a big advantage that hydroelectric power is that hydropower dams is a huge renewable resource and using water to create electricity has no carbon footprint. As well as there is less pollution from it overall. There are many advantages but there are two distinct disadvantages, one of them being the cost to build an electric power station. The cost

The Site C Dam is an $8.77 billion dollar project organized in British Columbia on the Peace River. A dam full of fresh maintainable water that is converted into energy, decreasing hydro bills and providing thousands of jobs. However, this debatable topic leaves us wondering if the harm the dam does to the ecosystem is really worth the energy, and if it is truly

Hydroelectric dams as energy sources have many advantages; they provide a renewable energy source, it can take the place of fossil fuel usages, and while being built dams can significantly help jobs in the development industry (Perlman). However, these dams are extremely costly, not just economically but environmentally and socially as well. These costs can be demonstrated by looking at the consequences of other dams. Three Gorges in China: release of methane gases, deforestation, water pollution, ecosystem disruption. Glen Canyon Dam: sedimentation, endangerment and extinction of species endemic to the area, poor water quality, crippling of ecosystems downstream—and these are just the environmental impacts! All of these

Hydroelectric power is not the “green” energy being promoted by Northern Pass. From Concord’s Conservation Committee; “Large-scale hydroelectric generation is not considered sustainable or "green" energy; it relies on the inundation of thousands of acres of boreal forest in Quebec -- by some estimates an area half the size of New Hampshire - and construction of hundreds of miles of transmission lines from distant hydro dams. Such projects contribute to climate change through the release of methane gas from decomposing vegetation.”

New industries and people in their homes made increased demands on hydro power and Canada with its vast river systems soon became the second largest producer of hydro power in the world.

Furthermore, generating hydroelectricity does not produce any kinds of greenhouse gases or smog emissions. Finding the balance between an efficient energy source that does not produce any greenhouse gases are crucial, especially in this day and time, where climate change is prominently becoming a large issue not just in Canada but all over the world. Between 1990 and 2013 Canada’s increase in emissions were caused by fossil fuels. Fortunately, there was a slight reduction from 2005 to 2013 and that was from the public electricity sector, for example, by using hydroelectric stations. If canada increased the percentage in which the hydroelectric stations supplied energy to, Canada could potentially cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and smog.

Looking at the benefits and drawbacks of potential energy sources, it’s obvious that each source has many. For hydro-electricity, it’s renewable, cheaper than many other sources, and doesn’t produce any carbon emissions. But, while hydroelectric power plants are being built, marine ecosystems are sometimes destroyed in the process. Due to global warming, there’s a chance that those power plants could in time, be dried

Brazil is the third largest consumer of electricity in the Western Hemisphere and the ninth largest in the world. In 2011, of the 531 trillion watt hours of electric power generated, hydropower accounted for 424 trillion watt hours, approximately a staggering 80%. Brazil undoubtedly has extremely high reliance on hydropower. However, due to the large size of hydroelectric dams, the construction of dams lowering biodiversity in the Amazon Rainforest, and the unstable climate of Brazil, the hydroelectric power across Brazil is environmentally ineffective.

Hydroelectric is a form of energy it is a renewable resource. Hydroelectricity is the most important and widely used renewable source of energy. Hydroelectric relies on water, which is clean and renewable energy source. Renewable energy comes from natural resources. Non-Renewable energy source includes coal, oil and natural gas. Water is renewable because water continually recycles itself. To harness energy from flowing water, the water must be controlled; a large reservoir is created, usually by damming a river to create an artificial lake or reservoir. Water is channeled through tunnels in the dam. The energy of water flowing through the dam causes the turbines to turn and make the

“Worldwide, hydropower facilities possess a significant amount of installed electric generating capacity. IEA statistics indicate that at the end of 2001 there was in excess of 450,000 MW of installed capacity within IEA member countries, with about half in Europe and half in North America. In addition to conventional hydropower, there is more than 80,000 MW of installed pumped-hydro capacity in IEA countries. In contrast, utility-scale wind power is relatively new in the electric market, but increasing rapidly” (Integration of Wind and Hydropower Systems)

Hydroelectric power plant is one of the major power plants all over the world in order to create electricity. It is also one of the best renewable energy sources on the planet earth. In ranking, Canada is the third largest country to produce hydroelectricity power. The efficiency of this power source is 90% and this is very impressive as the percentage of efficiency is very high. Hydro power plants generate 24% of the world’s electricity. More than 1 billion people are associated with hydro power plants as they use the power supply from hydro power plants.

Iceland 's mountains, glaciers, rivers, and geothermal hot spots play a major role in sustainable energy development. Iceland has recognized their natural resources and is utilizing them to create energy production for their country. Currently, Iceland is generating nearly 100 percent renewable energy: 73% hydropower, 27% geothermal, and less than one percent fossil fuels (Orkustofnun, 2015). Melting glaciers supply an abundant resource to rivers which Iceland has harnessed to support hydropower. Hydropower is recognized as a sustainable, clean source of energy. There is concern that hydropower dams are negatively impacting

Dams are also an alternative to minimize energy loss; although some countries don’t use that because of flooding landscapes, disrupting the eco system and displacing people but in a country like Brazil, dams give 80% of the people electricity. Hydropower can contribute to 12% of human energy use.

The process to make hydroelectric power uses a reservoir and dam to flow water through a turbine that generates electricity when spun. No waste product remains and enough electricity is made to power cities continuously. Homes, manufacturing factories, and business buildings all run on a necessary portion of hydroelectric power. Your very own clothes would not have been made if there was no hydroelectricity to power the factory they were made in. Those ecards you email your grandma every birthday and Christmas were sent because water generated enough energy to power your computer. Millions of people have jobs because water helps to power their place of work and keep it running.

According to the National Institute for Energy Research and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, solar energy makes up only 0.5% of total energy consumption in the United States, and over 65% of consumed energy is natural gas and petroleum. (2016) These statistics show that nearly two-thirds of the energy the United States uses is not only non-renewable but the processess of harnessing it also causes pollution. Solar Energy is energy that is transferred through solar radiation in the form of electromagnetic energy. In the transference of solar radiation to Earth from the Sun, only one billionth of this energy arrives at Earth 's surface. A joule is the equivalence of one watt of power that is created through exertion for one second. One trillion watts of this generated energy is known as a terawatt. As Haugen and Musser (2012), examined types of alternative, renewable energy sources, they looked at hydro-power. They said that it, “is the most used renewable energy source used in the United States. It accounted for almost 80 percent of the renewable energy and 9 percent of the total electricity generated in the United States in 2008.” This shows that solar is not the only option for renewable energy, nor is it the most used. Solar power, however, does not instigate change in the environment as hydro-power does. In order for many of the dams to be created to instigate the use of hydro-power, waterways have to be rerouted or otherwise altered from their natural