Three Gorges Dam
Built on the historical Yangtze River, the Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest and most controversial dam to be built. The dam has been the cause for the displacement of an approximated 1.3 million people and is currently wreaking havoc on the environment. The question is, however, was it right for the Chinese government to do this? This question can easily be answered using the Australian method of SHEEP factors; social, historical, economic, environmental, and political. In terms of the social factors, the positives outweigh the negatives. The dam has created many jobs for those who need them and a barrier to flooding. An estimated 300,000 people were killed in flooding of the Yangtze River over the course of the …show more content…
The Chinese government is estimated to have spent $37.23 billion on building the dam alone, which is several times the original estimate, says the Xinhua news agency.In the future the dam is expected to improve the overall air quality by reducing the use of coal. Meanwhile, until the dam is up and running, ten millions tonnes of debris have already been flushed into the river during its construction. As for the political factors, no one individual is affected, but rather the government as a whole. Many citizens are very upset with the Chinese government, and rightly so. They have displaced over a millions people, withheld their promises, polluted the river, and spent over $30 billion of China’s budget. Sometimes, when people set out to fix one thing they often end up destroying another. This is exactly what happened with the Three Gorges Dam. The Chinese government, while on a mission to improve the environment, ended up destroying key parts of their SHEEP factors. What they did was wrong and played out terribly. The question now is, how will they make up for
Built on the historical Yangtze River, the Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest and most controversial dam to be built. The dam has been the cause for the displacement of an approximated 1.3 million people and is currently wreaking havoc on the environment. The question is, however, was it right for the Chinese government to do this? This question can easily be answered using the Australian method of SHEEP factors; social, historical, economic, environmental, and political. In terms of the social factors, the positives outweigh the negatives. The dam has created many jobs for those who need them and a barrier to flooding. An estimated 300,000 people were killed in flooding of the Yangtze River over the course of the …show more content…
The Chinese government is estimated to have spent $37.23 billion on building the dam alone, which is several times the original estimate, says the Xinhua news agency.In the future the dam is expected to improve the overall air quality by reducing the use of coal. Meanwhile, until the dam is up and running, ten millions tonnes of debris have already been flushed into the river during its construction. As for the political factors, no one individual is affected, but rather the government as a whole. Many citizens are very upset with the Chinese government, and rightly so. They have displaced over a millions people, withheld their promises, polluted the river, and spent over $30 billion of China’s budget. Sometimes, when people set out to fix one thing they often end up destroying another. This is exactly what happened with the Three Gorges Dam. The Chinese government, while on a mission to improve the environment, ended up destroying key parts of their SHEEP factors. What they did was wrong and played out terribly. The question now is, how will they make up for