Three Gorges Dam in China - Research Paper Example

Three Gorges Dam in China (Chinese government fears Three Gorges Dam “catastrophe) “The Three Gorges Dam spans the Yangtze River at Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei province, China. Construction began in 1993” (Wertz). It is one among the biggest hydroelectric power projects in the world with a capacity to produce 18200 MW electric power at present. It was partly commissioned in 2008 and is expected to be fully operational in 2012. When it becomes fully operational, its capacity may become 22500 MW. Chinese authorities describe this dam as a multipurpose dam since it can prevent floods, increase shipping capacity, etc apart from producing huge volumes of electric power. “The massive project sets records for number of people displaced (more than 1.2 million), number of cities and towns flooded (13 cities, 140 towns, 1,350 villages), and length of reservoir (more than 600 kilometers)” (Three Gorges Dam). its location. China's huge Three Gorges Dam hydro-power project could spark a "catastrophe" unless accumulating environmental threats are quickly defused, senior officials and experts have warned. The dam, which is located in Hubei province in south-western China, is the world's biggest hydro-electric project. Inaugurated in 2006 it began generating electricity in 2003(Chinese government fears Three Gorges Dam “catastrophe) Three Gorges Dam has caught the headlines of media recently because of the huge concerns about the environmental impacts it may generate in Chinese territory. Environmentalists, not only from China, but also from other parts of the world unanimously opposed this project because of the huge threats it may cause to wild animals and to the environment. At the same time, Chinese authorities describe it as a landmark which has proved the technological advancements or dominance achieved by China. Moreover, Chinese authorities claim that the success of this project was achieved through the careful blending of social, engineering and economic capitals. They also argued that this dam is the greatest victory man achieved over nature because of the complexities involved in the construction of this dam. Amidst all such exaggerated or colourful claims, many people in the world are looking at this project suspiciously because of the environmental impacts it can cause not only to China, but also to the neighbouring nations. Erosion, landslides etc are some of the major threats other than the threats to the habitats of wild animals, as a result of the construction of this dam. This paper analyses the reasons for the construction of this dam, arguments of ecological organizations against it, alternate options which could have been used, future plans of Chinese authorities to construct such dams etc. Chinese authorities labelled Three Gorges dam as a multipurpose dam because of the multiple utilities it can provide to the public and the nation. The entire world is currently facing severe energy shortages and it is necessary for each country to find out alternate energy sources since most of the energy sources available on earth are non-renewable in nature. For example, bio fuel or petroleum is a non-renewable energy source which is used extensively all over the world. According to some estimates, the available oil stocks may be used up within another 30 or 40 years time and it is necessary to find out alternate energy sources. Solar energy is a non-renewable energy source; however, cheap technologies have not been developed yet to exploit solar energy. Hydroelectric power is a renewable energy source and it is necessary for a big country like China to exploit such power as much as possible since alternate options are limited. Another reason for the construction of this dam is the increasing threats of floods. It should be noted that because of global warming and subsequent atmospheric temperature rise, huge ice blocs in the polar region are melting and as a result of that the probabilities of flood increasing day by day. Yangtze River is extremely vulnerable to flood threats and in every year millions of people staying in the coastal regions of this river are facing problems as a result of that. Another reason for the construction of this dam is the importance of Yangtze River with respect to water transporting in China. Snaking its way 6,300 kilometres from western China’s Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the East China Sea, the Yangtze River stretches nine provinces and serves as a drain for 695,000 square miles of land. It is less in length only to the Amazon and Nile, and spans so many regions. For over two centuries the Yangzte has served as a transportation highway and commercial thoroughfare. Ocean-going vessels can navigate up the river for 1000 km and steamers can travel as far as Yichang, 1600 km from the sea. A quarter of China’s ocean-going cargo enters the river between Shanghai and the sea (Owen). The above statistics clearly shows the importance of Yangzte as far as Chinese water transport is concerned. Three Gorges Dam is constructed in such a way that the facilities of water transporting through this river will be increased. The smoother transportation of goods through this river will increase the trade activities of China with other countries and will give momentum to the economic growth of China. So far we have discussed the reasons for constructing Three Gorges Dam. From the above discussions, one can easily think that this dam brings enormous value to China. At the same time, this dam is raising severe threats to the environment. According to prominent environmentalists, this dam may well turn out to be a huge disaster in future. As in the case of other hydroelectric projects in the world, the major criticism labelled against three Gorges dam is with respect to its environmental impacts. The submergence of hundreds of factories, mines and waste dumps, and the presence of massive industrial centres upstream are creating a festering bog of effluent, silt, industrial pollutants and rubbish in the reservoir. Erosion of the reservoir and downstream riverbanks is causing landslides, and threatening one of the world’s biggest fisheries in the East China Sea. The weight of the reservoir's water has many scientists concerned over reservoir-induced seismicity (Three Gorges Dam) It is already proved that the probabilities of earthquake may increase as a result of construction of dams. The threats of earthquake may become intensified, if the dam is constructed in a geographically weaker area. The earth is made of different layers such as Crust, mantle, core etc. earthquake happens when some layers of earth slide on other layers. The huge mass of water accumulated at some particular points may generate huge changes in the layer architecture and subsequently forced layer sliding may take place in the form of earthquake. Since Yangtze River is the third biggest river in the world and Three Gorges dam is the biggest dam in the world, the huge accumulation of water may take place and the probabilities of earthquake may increase a lot. It is quite possible that these earthquakes may sometimes destroy the dam itself and the consequences of such a disaster are unimaginable especially when we consider the huge size of this dam. “NASA geophysicist Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao found evidence that large dams cause changes to the earth's rotation, because of the shift of water weight from oceans to reservoirs” (Environmental impacts). The recent tsunami attacks in Japan substantiate the arguments of Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao. To date, more than 1.3 million people have been moved to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. The government promised land to farmers, jobs for city dwellers, and cash compensation for all dam ousters. However, China doesn’t have spare land, and in the face of increasing privatization, the government no longer creates jobs (Three Gorges Dam: The Cost of Power, p.1) The above statistics clearly show that the availability of land in China is decreasing day by day. Landslide and soil erosion caused by three gorges like dams may further decrease the availability of fertile lands in China. When water accumulates at some particular points, its soil destruction strength may increase. It should be noted that the coastal areas of rivers are always vulnerable to landslide and soil erosion when floods happen in rivers. Under such circumstances, the landslide problems and soil erosion like environmental problems caused by Three Gorges like dam projects are unimaginable. Many people have the false belief that dams may not cause any threat to marine life. However, the above belief is completely wrong. It should be noted that fishes and other marine creatures living in rivers need fresh water. These creatures will get fresh water only when the water flows freely through the river. When the flow of water through river is being blocked, the result would be water pollution and subsequent destruction of marine life. “A number of species will be adversely affected by the construction of the dam. There are 300 species of fish in the Yangtze River. The dam will create a barrier in the river that these species will not be able to cross” (The Three Gorges Dam Project: Environmental Impacts). Fresh water fishes normally travel freely through the river for breeding purpose. Dams can cause problems to their habitat and breeding system. Chinese river Dolphin and 47 other species in and around the Yangtze River are cited as the major marine creatures which may lose their habitat as a result of the construction of this dam. The Yangtze River Water Resources Committee reported that 23.4 billion tons of sewage and industrial waste were dumped into the Yangtze in 2000. Currently, certain stretches of the river are unfit for human use, and many fear that the reservoir created by the Three Gorges Dam will become a massive cesspool. Riverbank collapses and landslides, untreated waste, pollution from boats and garbage heaps, and abandoned buildings containing various toxins are all thought to contribute to a pond of filth once the waters begin to rise (Owen). “The world's largest dam will flood over 62,000 acres of farmland, 13 major cities, 140 large, and hundreds of small villages along the river's banks, necessitating the evacuation and relocation of over one million people” (Three Gorges case study). Most of the coastal areas of Yangtze River are dense forests. These forests consist of different types of animals and other creatures. Three gorges dam destroyed the habitats of the wild life near the coastal areas of Yangtze River. Moreover, many parts of the coastal areas of Yangtze River were fertile agriculture lands earlier. However, the construction of Three Gorges dam not only destroyed all such agriculture farms, but also it destroyed the beautiful landscape as well. In other words, the land which was filled with variety of crops, became an ocean of waste as a result of the construction of this dam. Jim Yardley (2007) has pointed out that the polluted water in Three Gorges dam is causing problems not only to the marine life, but also to the land life. “Water quality in the main reservoir remained stable, but pollution was worsening in tributaries because of high levels of nitrates and phosphates that had already endangered drinking water in some areas”(Yardley). Underground water is used for drinking purpose by many of the people in China. Chinese people usually dig wells to take water for drinking purposes. It is quite possible that the waste accumulation in Three Gorges dam can pollute the drinking water sources like wells in the immediate neighbourhood of this dam. “According to a CNN article, one billion tons of sewage will flow into the reservoir each year. Pollution in the river itself will increase, as the dam will slow water flow, stopping the river’s natural cleaning mechanisms” (Three Gorges case study). Instead of constructing Three Gorges dam, Chinese authorities could have tested several other options for solving their energy crisis. It should be noted that China is the number one country in the world as far as the exploitation of solar energy is concerned. China has better technologies for the exploitation of solar energy than any other country in the world. The huge money spent for the Three Gorges dam construction could have used for developing better technologies for solar energy exploitation. Wind energy, tidal energy etc also could have been exploited well if some portions of the amount spent for this project was used for the researches in those areas. China already possesses better nuclear energy exploitation technologies. They could have constructed more nuclear power reactors for meeting their energy requirements. Apart from the energy sources discussed earlier, coal is another energy source which can better utilized by China for meeting its energy requirements. China has plenty of Coal stock and the only problem associated with the exploitation of coal energy is the environmental problems as in the case of hydroelectric projects. However, the environmental problems caused by coal are comparatively smaller than that caused by the hydroelectric power projects. According to Chaudhury (2003), “China in fact has no alternative to coal. According to experts, the best China can hope for is to find cleaner, more efficient ways to burn the plentiful fossil fuel. Doing so will reduce the amount of pollutants and soot released when burning coal” (Chaudhury, p.33) Even though, many criticisms were labelled against the Three Gorges dam project, Chinese authorities are not shifting their focus from constructing other hydroelectric power sources. The operator of China’s Three Gorges Dam, the China Three Gorges Dam Corporation, is planning four more hydroelectric dams on the upper reaches of the Yangzi River. The new dams will generate a total of 43 gigawatts of electricity - twice what the current dam produces. The China Three Gorges Dam Corporation defends the current and future dams. They claim on their website, their projects have established “A new ecological culture with a target of striving for man to live in harmony with nature.” They also claim to have improved the lives of those who had to relocate (Three Gorges Dam Operator Plans Four More Dams on Yangzi River) To conclude, Three Gorges dam could be a manmade wonder at present, however, it may become a blunder in future after analysing various problems it can cause nature and living things. It is a fact that China is facing severe energy crisis at present. It is also a fact that China has immense river sources which can be used for constructing dams and to exploit it for generating power. At the same time, the current blessings obtained from these hydroelectric projects may well turn out to be curses of different types in future. China has immense coals resources which can be utilized for the future energy requirements. The money spent for constructing this dam could have been used for exploiting other energy sources which may cause less problems to the environment. Chinese authorities are planning to construct bigger hydroelectric projects in future which mean that they are taking the criticisms labelled against Three Gorges Dam or hydroelectric power projects less seriously. China should realize that the negative impacts of their activities can cause problems not only to the people of China, but also to the people of neighbouring countries. They should think twice before proceeding with plans to construct more hydroelectric power projects like Three Gorges. Of course, they consider the construction of smaller hydroelectric power projects; however, construction bigger dams like Three Gorges should be avoided under any circumstance, because of the unpredictability of the consequences of such huge projects. Works Cited 1. “Chinese government fears Three Gorges Dam “catastrophe”. Web. 03 July 2011. http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Chinese-government-fears-Three-Gorges-Dam-%E2%80%9Ccatastrophe%E2%80%9D-10404.html 2. Chaudhury, Aadel. “Three Gorges Dam: Fortune or Folly?”. Web. 03 July 2011. 3. “Environmental Impacts”. Web. 03 July 2011. 4. Owen, Jerry. “Yangtze River”. 2003. Web. 03 July 2011. 5. “Three Gorges Dam”. 2003. Web. 03 July 2011. 6. “The Three Gorges Dam Project: Environmental Impacts”. Web. 03 July 2011. 7. “Three Gorges Dam Operator Plans Four More Dams on Yangzi River”. 2011. Web. 03 July 2011. 8. Wertz, Richard, R. “Special report: Three Gorges Dam”. Web. 03 July 2011. 9. Yardley, Jim. “Chinese Dam Projects Criticized for Their Human Costs”. 2007. The New York Times. November 19, 2007. Web. 03 July 2011. 10. Read More