Three Gorges Dam

665 Words3 Pages
Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Dam is located in China. It is the world’s largest dam and is a hydroelectric dam that is squeezed between cliffs off the Yangtze River, which is located in central China. It is also the world’s largest power station. For almost three decades, Chinese government ignored warnings from scientists and environmentalists because it has the potential to be one of China’s biggest environmental nightmares. The dam was built to create electricity and water storage for their population which is migrating from a sustainable existence to a more urban culture. Since more Chinese gave up farming, the cities in which they do need more electricity and water than the cities in a rural existence. Also, It will prevent heavy floods downstream. The dam will conduct eight times the megawatts of what the Hoover Dam produces. The dam was completed in 2009, and cost around 24 billion dollars. The build of the dam was set out to be done in three different stages. The first stage took 5 years to complete. It started in 1992 and was completed in 1997. The second stage took six years to complete. (1998 – 2003). The third stage was completed in 2009. During the third period of the building of the dam, the installation of the machinery, the construction of the power station and the dam on the right bank are finished. The Three Gorges Dam is a model for disaster, yet Chinese companies are replicating the model. Huge hydropower cascades have been proposed and are being constructed in some of China’s most pristine and culturally diverse river basins. Around the world, large dams are causing social and environmental devastation while better alternatives are being ignored. It is the world’s biggest hydro project and the problems that come along with it are not unA third of China’s 1.3 billion people live in and around the Yangtze River basin. For centuries,
Open Document