4 juill. 2012 - Three Gorges Dam
Description:
The Three Gorges Dam, which spans the Yangtze River in China, is the world’s largest hydroelectric gravity dam. The dam, which began construction in 1994, was declared fully operational in 2012. The Chinese government created the dam in order to decrease China’s reliance on nonrenewable energy sources and therefore their greenhouse gas emissions, increase shipping capacity on the Yangtze, and reduce the potential for floods downstream. However, despite the good intentions, there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding this project, both domestically and abroad. The dam is causing a great deal to the local environment as well as the human population, having caused ecosystem-destroying landslides and displaced nearly 1.3 million people. There have also been minor earthquakes, an increase in waterborne disease, and a decline in biodiversity in correlation with the Three Gorges Dam. Due to the risks to both the environment and the human population, there have been several movements both within and outside of China to cease or greatly decrease the use of the dam.
Hvistendahl, Mara. “China's Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe?” Scientific American, 25 Mar. 2008, www.scientificamerican.com/article/chinas-three-gorges-dam-disaster/.
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