Dammed Trouble

Dammed Trouble

When dams were originally designed, their purpose was to create power, allow for easier water accessibility, prevent flooding in certain areas, and provide water to be used for agriculture and farming activity. Some people view these dams as beneficial because, on the surface, they are low in cost and are able to use an exploitable resource, water, instead of an important nonrenewable resource, such as coal or oil. However, the building of dams introduces some key disadvantages that far outweigh the benefits that they produce. Those that oppose the furthering of dam building as an industry in the United States argue that dam building only brings about events and issues that cause a regression in our nation's urbanization. Of the many issues that are brought to light by the introduction of more dams, there are several that cannot go unnoticed in the eyes of the United States government. Dams, though beneficial in some ways, prove to be hazardous because of the flooding, environmental destruction, and health issues that are presented by building these dams.

Though dams were initially designed to prevent floods, in order to provide for water storage, floods may be caused intentionally. Water storage for agricultural activity is one of the primary purposes for the building of dams. When rivers are blocked, the water upstream begins to slow down and silt collects at the bottom of the body of water. The more severe this clogging becomes, the higher risk flooding in upstream areas is. It is predicted that within the next few decades, a possible 70% of water carrying capacity could be lost. At the current rate, approximately 1% of storage capacity on the earth is being lost per year, in the 7000 cubic kilometers of water storage available to us, due to silt build up. Officials predict that within the next fifty years, 1500 of these cubic kilometers could be wasted. When a flood occurs, there are many unfortunate consequences that must be dealt with. The people that lived in the area must relocate and build new lives, and the environment is destroyed. This flooding creates many new problems for the world, and the destruction of reservoir surroundings are only one result of it.

The destruction of environments due to flooding is a prevalent issue that traces back to the building of dams. Though hydropower is a desirable source of energy, the flooding that must occur often destroys our environment needlessly. Forests may be completely submerged by the waters. As the plants decay, they release methane, which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Officials also predict that dams will cause a build up in sewage which will further destroy surroundings of a dammed area. Though the water that is stored is beneficial to agricultural activity in an immediate sense, in the long run even this aspect is harmful to the environment. Because some rivers are very salty, when used for irrigation, the salinization that takes place can be too much and can ruin the soil. Additionally, during dry seasons in specific places, the scarcity of water due to dams can lead to shoreline erosion. Because of environmental destruction, the habitats and health of people and animals alike is threatened.

Dams introduce many dangers to the health and survival of organisms such as

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