Our World

China marks completion of Three Gorges Dam

Even though we have already discussed East Asia, I thought it would be interesting to post this article on the Three Gorges Dam.

On Saturday, China completed the construction of the controversial Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectricity project. The 607-foot-high, 7,574-foot-long dam on the Yangtze River is the world's largest dam of reinforced concrete, with a total of 28 million cubic meters of concrete to be poured. The official China Daily in an editorial called for people to remember the more than 100 people who died during the dam’s construction, as well as the 1.3 million people facing relocation to make way for the dam’s reservoir. The $25 billion project has been criticized for its environmental impact and its affect on so many people. The entire project is set to be completed in 2009, when the reservoir will reach its full level and its 26 turbines will all come online, bringing its total power generating capacity to 18 gigawatts.

Supporters say the benefits of the project far outweigh the costs. The principal advantage of the project is to generate power to keep pace with China's economic growth. It is estimated that China's power output must rise by 8 percent annually to keep pace with 6 percent annual increase in gross national product. Another advantage of the dam is to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide; generating electricity equal to about 40 million tons of coal. China's growing coal consumption poses a huge threat to the environment. Sulfur dioxide emissions, which cause acid rain, are expected to rise from 15.5 million tons in 1991 to 1.4 billion. The project was also built to help prevent flooding of the river. However, the project also has its disadvantages. It is said to cause devastating environmental damage, increasing the risk of earthquakes and landslides. It will also threaten the rivers wildlife. In addition to massive fish species, it will also affect endangered species, including the Yangtze dolphin, the Chinese Sturgeon, the Chinese Tiger, the Chinese Alligator, the Siberian Crane, and the Giant Panda.
Three Gorges Dam

posted by Anonymous @ 5/20/2006 08:53:00 PM