The Three Gorges Dam

People have lived for millions of years, surviving the floods, without the Three Goges Dam. The dam is not a necessity, it had been lived without before. Now it is causing water pollution, it was extremely expensive, and the environment is being destroyed. The dam is causing history to be washed away and 1.25 million people are being relocated. You can't ignore all of those things. The dam was not worth it.

First, as the dam was built, it polluted the water. The water rose and flooded 13 major cities. The factories have lots of pollution in them, and, as they were flooded, the water became contaminated. This is still killing many kinds of fish and destroying ecosystems. Also, the Chang river near the dam will no longer be a water source. Water pollution will affect life as we know it in the Three Gorges. 

Money is also a large problem. Building the largest dam in the world cost 22.5 billion US dollars. China will have a very hard time regaining all of that money. Also, people who have lived in the towns and cities all of their life had to find new houses. Houses are expensive and it was not like they could sell their old ones. Lastly, the cities that were flooded cost so much, and they had so much in them. Technology, buildings, and so much more are lost forever. Money is definitely a big problem with the dam.

Another drawback of the dam is how much the environment was impacted. Limestone disintegrates in water, and, seeing how the walls of the gorges are made of limestone, the environment will go through some serious changes. If the limestone shifted, the dam could possibly be damaged and all the time and money would be wasted. To build all the new houses farther up, they will have to cut down more trees. Also, animals found that the country will have to find a new home. The environment is being changed in a negative way to support the dam.

The cities that were destroyed had great historic sights. Many temples that used to be a huge attraction are now under water.  Families have lost so much stuff that was important to them before. They had to start over without their history. Most of the tourist attractions are gone and with them many jobs. The history that was important for many people is now gone.

More than a billion people had to move when the dam was being built. They had to leave their homes where they had their lives. Everyone in the 13 major cities and in all the villages near the river. They had to pay for different homes and start new jobs. Farmers who had lived off their land before had to change their way of life. They had to find new farms and buy food. Urban people had to find a new place to live far away from their old home. They had to restart their businesses and history. In some cases, new beginnings are not a good thing. This is one of them. 

As the Three Gorges Dam was built, things changed for the worst. The dam was not worth all the trouble. It polluted the water and cost billions of dollars. The environment is still being ruined today along with the great history of the cities. Most importantly, almost 1.3 billion people had to move, to save the people in South China. They were not happy when they found out they had to leave their homes forever. Many had to leave the only place they knew. The dam only hurt them, not helped them. The choice to build the dam was like choosing a favorite, and the government chose South China. It had pros and cons but, according to me, the dam was not worth it.