Travel & Tourism Three Gorges Dam Hydro-Electricity Backgrounder Hydro-electricity is energy created by falling water The water must fall a considerable distance to have enough energy to push a heavy turbine and a generator Dams provide this vertical distance Water Power Advantages It is clean and renewable It leaves no waste The reservoirs that form behind dams offer recreational opportunities and provide drinking water Dams may control flooding Water Power Disadvantages Dam construction can disrupt existing land and river ecosystems The newly created flood plain may displace a number of settled people The cost of constructing a dam has soared Hydroelectricity is an option limited to areas that have rivers and streams Dams Around the World Three Gorges Dam Three Gorges Dam July 2000 Three Gorges Dam May 2006 Three Gorges Dam Three Gorges Dam Locks Three Gorges Dam Backgrounder 40 to 80 million people worldwide have been have been physically displaced, usually by being flooded out, by the construction of dams With the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, an estimated 2 million people will be displaced Most dams provide benefits for a country or region as a whole while the people who are most affected and bear the brunt of the costs usually live in the river valley or close to the rivers edge The Three Gorges Dam, at more than 182 m high and 2.4 km wide, with a 640 km long reservoir will be one of the few man made structures visible from space Three Gorges Dam Issues Political Countries not showing support, but Multinational Companies are. Economic Provide inexpensive energy Will help with economic development Increase shipping into interior of China Cost of $25 Billion Three Gorges Dam Issues Social Will stop flooding and will save lives Will displace 1 million to 2 million people Loss of farming land (people will be moved to insufficient farm land) Loss of cultural sites (ancient temples, monuments), burial grounds Environmental Less coal needed Change the ecosystem for the fish May threaten endangered species Lake will not allow for movement of wastes