Crossings Magazine

A Dam Problem
by Piper Wallingford

One man's feat of engineering is another man's ecological woe. In 1993, China began building the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric dam. It would provide necessary services to a country whose population and energy needs are increasing, as well as improving flood control and navigation on the dangerous Yangtze River. China estimated the price of the dam to be a minimum of twenty-five billion dollars, an estimate that does not include cultural and environmental degradation. The United States has focused largely on the negative impact of Three Gorges Dam, yet the construction of the Hoover Dam in 1931 was praised for the economic development that the dam would bring to the region. The United States downplayed controversial issues of cultural and environmental loss, safety concerns, and individual hardships. Public opinion has shifted between the constructions of the two dams because of a change in values.

The construction of the Three Gorges Dam reveals that the desperate need for energy outweighs other concerns. Construction progresses despite the social and cultural ramifications of the dam. As the waters rise, relics and ruins of prehistoric peoples disappear. Unfortunately, the dam also threatens the lives of modern Chinese citizens. The government has already relocated almost 1.3 million people whose homes will be underwater. Those relocated often struggle to survive. The government pays families less than what their homes are worth and often relocates them to areas with worse farming or living standards. Delays in the construction of government housing has left many homeless, and those who have a place to live often find that it is inferior to what the government promised. Some citizens like Lu Youbing have nothing left. She is "living in a tent, fending off rats and wondering where her family can go." Those left homeless are just another cost in the price of China's development.

Workers involved with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam face dangerous and life-threatening situations. In the summer of 2007, hazardous working conditions killed at least thirteen workers. Landslides are increasing in strength and frequency, threatening workers and residents near the dam. Increased silt, waste runoff, algal blooms, and poor water quality affect the fragile ecology of the Yangtze River. In addition to earthquakes and landslides, the dam has increased erosion and caused the Yangtze delta to shrink as thirty-one percent less silt reaches the Yellow Sea each year.

Nevertheless, development progresses, and the government expects the dam to be operational by 2009. The government ignores external costs, such as environmental concerns and social injustices, focusing instead on the benefits of the dam. Similar to the Chinese government, former Secretary of the Interior Ray promoted the construction of the Hoover Dam, because "controlled water will care for millions of people and create billions of wealth."

During the Great Depression, the construction of the Hoover Dam was a source of national pride. In a time when electricity and irrigation water could provide relief for the drought-crippled west, public opinion supported the construction of the Hoover Dam as an aid to development. Social and cultural protests against development were invisible against a project that would stimulate the economy. Despite a strike, a lawsuit, worker deaths, poor working conditions, resettlement, and loss of history, the United States focused on issues that would not examine the negative effects of the Hoover Dam. Citizens cared about the progress workers had made at the dam because it was most relevant to their lives. The Hoover Dam would offer relief and provide electricity and water to many U.S. citizens. Progress and development were important to a nation in need.

During the constructions of the two dams, citizens placed more importance on different social and political issues. During the Great Depression, U.S. citizens were dependant on the dam for their livelihoods. The United States built the Hoover Dam in order to develop, the same reason China is building the Three Gorges Dam. Despite the concerns that the construction raises, China hails the Three Gorges Dam for the foreseen benefits of flood control, energy and navigation, addressing issues that are more important and immediate to the welfare of Chinese citizens. The U.S. condemnation of the Three Gorges Dam is hypocritical when seventy-five years ago, the United States was in a position similar to that of China today. Rapid development and the need for basic life sustaining materials came before cultural or environmental factors, and often the good of the country overcomes the good of a relative few.

To contact Piper Wallingford for comments or for a list of sources, send an e-mail to piperwallingford@crossingsmagazine.org below:

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				A Dam Problem by Piper Wallingford One man's feat of engineering is another man's ecological woe. In 1993, China began building the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric dam. It would provide necessary services to a country whose population and energy needs are increasing, as well as improving flood control and navigation on the dangerous Yangtze River. China estimated the price of the dam to be a minimum of twenty-five billion dollars, an estimate that does not include cultural and environmental degradation. The United States has focused largely on the negative impact of Three Gorges Dam, yet the construction of the Hoover Dam in 1931 was praised for the economic development that the dam would bring to the region. The United States downplayed controversial issues of cultural and environmental loss, safety concerns, and individual hardships. Public opinion has shifted between the constructions of the two dams because of a change in values. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam reveals that the desperate need for energy outweighs other concerns. Construction progresses despite the social and cultural ramifications of the dam. As the waters rise, relics and ruins of prehistoric peoples disappear. Unfortunately, the dam also threatens the lives of modern Chinese citizens. The government has already relocated almost 1.3 million people whose homes will be underwater. Those relocated often struggle to survive. The government pays families less than what their homes are worth and often relocates them to areas with worse farming or living standards. Delays in the construction of government housing has left many homeless, and those who have a place to live often find that it is inferior to what the government promised. Some citizens like Lu Youbing have nothing left. She is "living in a tent, fending off rats and wondering where her family can go." Those left homeless are just another cost in the price of China's development. Workers involved with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam face dangerous and life-threatening situations. In the summer of 2007, hazardous working conditions killed at least thirteen workers. Landslides are increasing in strength and frequency, threatening workers and residents near the dam. Increased silt, waste runoff, algal blooms, and poor water quality affect the fragile ecology of the Yangtze River. In addition to earthquakes and landslides, the dam has increased erosion and caused the Yangtze delta to shrink as thirty-one percent less silt reaches the Yellow Sea each year. Nevertheless, development progresses, and the government expects the dam to be operational by 2009. The government ignores external costs, such as environmental concerns and social injustices, focusing instead on the benefits of the dam. Similar to the Chinese government, former Secretary of the Interior Ray promoted the construction of the Hoover Dam, because "controlled water will care for millions of people and create billions of wealth." During the Great Depression, the construction of the Hoover Dam was a source of national pride. In a time when electricity and irrigation water could provide relief for the drought-crippled west, public opinion supported the construction of the Hoover Dam as an aid to development. Social and cultural protests against development were invisible against a project that would stimulate the economy. Despite a strike, a lawsuit, worker deaths, poor working conditions, resettlement, and loss of history, the United States focused on issues that would not examine the negative effects of the Hoover Dam. Citizens cared about the progress workers had made at the dam because it was most relevant to their lives. The Hoover Dam would offer relief and provide electricity and water to many U.S. citizens. Progress and development were important to a nation in need. During the constructions of the two dams, citizens placed more importance on different social and political issues. During the Great Depression, U.S. citizens were dependant on the dam for their livelihoods. The United States built the Hoover Dam in order to develop, the same reason China is building the Three Gorges Dam. Despite the concerns that the construction raises, China hails the Three Gorges Dam for the foreseen benefits of flood control, energy and navigation, addressing issues that are more important and immediate to the welfare of Chinese citizens. The U.S. condemnation of the Three Gorges Dam is hypocritical when seventy-five years ago, the United States was in a position similar to that of China today. Rapid development and the need for basic life sustaining materials came before cultural or environmental factors, and often the good of the country overcomes the good of a relative few. To contact Piper Wallingford for comments or for a list of sources, send an e-mail to piperwallingford@crossingsmagazine.org below: Name E-mail address Location Phone Number [optional] Comments