A self-identifying environmentalist could be \"for\" dams, or \"against\" dams.

Question

A self-identifying environmentalist could be "for" dams, or "against" dams. For instance, an environmentalist "for" dams might say that hydropower electricity generation has little to no carbon emissions and therefore is an environmentally-friendly way to produce energy. An environmentalist "against" dams might say that dams displace local wildlife and severely decrease salmon runs in rivers, disrupting local ecosystems. (Someone could also be "for" or "against" dams for other non-environmental reasons). Where do you stand on the issue? In two paragraphs, pick a side (for or against dams), with a well-reasoned argument (Do NOT just reiterate what I taught you in class--put some thought into it!). Are the reasons you state for your argument environmental, economic, based off human-rights, etc.

Explanation / Answer

Dams, having a very good influence in power generation by hydropower electricity generation, has little to no carbon emissions and therefore is an environment-friendly way to produce energy. But the environmental consequences of large dams are numerous and varied, which includes direct impacts to the biological, chemical and physical properties of rivers and river-side environments. Migrations of fish and water is blocked by the dam wall. The dam also traps sediments, which are critical for maintaining physical processes and habitats downstream of the dam. Life in and around a river evolves and is conditioned on the timing and quantities of river flow. The fine sediment transported by the river will deposited besides the area of river bank at the time of flooding, which is ideal soil for many plants. Disrupted and altered water flows can be as severe as completely de-watering river reaches and the life they contain.

Another significant impact is the transformation of upstream ecosystem of the dam,by making an artificial slack-water reservoir habitat from a free-flowing river ecosystem. The temperature, chemical composition, dissolved oxygen levels is also changed. The groundwater tables along a river will also lowered, which is inaccessible to plant roots. Most reservoirs, especially those in the tropics, are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

Large dams have led to the extinction of many fish and other aquatic species, huge losses of forest, wetland and farmland, the disappearance of birds in floodplains, erosion of coastal deltas, and many other unmitigable impacts.

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