The Three Gorges Dam_____________________________________________________

The largest dam in the world resides in China. Standing 600 feet high, one and a half miles long, with a 400 mile reservoir, this 25 billion US dollar project is definitely imposing. There has been much controversy and criticism against the Three Gorges dam, but the dam is necessary for energy-hungry China. Firstly, the dam can provide one ninth of China s energy. Secondly, the dam will provide easy transportation for goods and people alike into the heart of China, and lastly, it is a significant symbol of China s competence and capability. The Three Gorges dam can generate as much energy as 18 nuclear power plants, which will provide one-ninth of China s growing energy consumption. China uses 50 million tonnes of coal a year, and the dam is a major infinite source of renewable energy. This will cut 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, 2 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide, 10 000 tonnes of carbon monoxides, 370 000 tonnes of nitrogen, and 150 000 tonnes of particles from the atmosphere annually. I think China has embraced an energy dinosaur. In terms of an American scale, this dam is somewhat akin to the electrical load between Philadelphia and Washington D.C. being served from a single power plant, says Dr.John Byrne, the director of the University of Delaware s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy. With the amount of energy that is being produced, and the removal of nearly 105 million tonnes of paricles and gases from the atmosphere, the dam will produce more environmental gain then loss, especially considering the wasting of finite resources. The Three Gorges dam s reservoir allows 10 000 ton freighters to enter China, while the previous limit was 1500 tonnes. Ships will be able to travel 2000 kilmeters inland. The reservoir can also be estabilished as a tourist attraction, like Maid of the Mist on Niagara Falls. These changes can greatly improve China s financial security. China is too invested on the dam to even consider backing out. The project is a massive display of Chinese people s strength and unity. It shows an advanced constitution of Chinese society, and solves a problem that has existed for thousands of years. The damming of the Yantze is of great political and economic significance . It proves to the whole world the Chinese people s ability of building the world s first rate hydro-electric project, says Premier Li Peng. The construction of the dam has become reprensentation of China s huge power. The Three Gorges dam is a vital symbol of China s potent and power. In conclusion, the Three Gorges dam is a massive, energy generator that will make China more accessible for foreign and domestic residents, it produces enough energy to outweigh the costs of environmental damage. Destroying the dam will not only destroy China itself- it will destroy the solution to an ever growing problem that cannot be solved any other way.