hse Three gorges Dam 三峡大坝对自然环境的影响英文.docx

1、hse Three gorges Dam 三峡大坝对自然环境的影响英文AbstractThe main objective of this research project was to investigate the impacts of Chinas Three Gorges Dam on the surroundingenvironment. After reading and collecting a range of sources from internet, journal articles and books, I managed to arrange these impact

2、s into different aspects systematically. The benefits of Three Gorges as a renewable energy source were firstly expressed. The negative environmental consequences particularly addressed were the increasing frequency of landslides; the disruption of biodiversity; the large scale of deforestation; the

3、 contamination of Yangtze River water source.Conclusion is hence reached that the negative environment impacts of the dam outweighed the positive. The research project acknowledgedChinese Governments efforts to prevent the adverse environment impacts, discussed the importance of sustainable developm

4、ent.Future fates of the dam were also commented. Introduction Fully functioned from 4th July, 2012, Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, China is the worlds largest power station in terms of installed capacity (Three Gorges Dam, http:/www.wikipedia.org/, 2014). Chinese Government constantly portrays the dam a

5、s a symbol of Chinas advanced technology anda symbol of Chinas rapid development. The positive commentsare corroborated by remarkable facts. The total electric generating capacity of the dam is 22500MW (Three Gorges Dam, http:/www.wikipedia.org/,2014);an executive with China Yangtze River Three Gorg

6、es Project Development Corporation mentioned that the dam accounts for 14% of Chinas total hydro generation in 2012(Three Gorges Project capable of generating 47 bln kwh of power, 2005). However, Three Gorges Dam has always been a controversial issue. In fact, the project is seen as an environmental

7、 catastrophe by many experts and activists abroad. In this research project, generalization of the environmental benefitsof Three Gorges Dam will first be made. The main focus will be the adverse environmental impacts of the dam, namelylandslides; disruption to ecosystem; deforestation and Yangtze R

8、iver water pollution. Body Paragraphs There are some undeniable environmental benefits of the Three Gorges Dam. China desperately needs sufficient electric power to meet the demand of growing electricity consumption, so industrializationcould be sustained (Three Gorges Project capable of generating

9、47 blnkwh of power, 2005). In China, energy was chiefly achieved through the burning of fossil fuels before the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Various greenhouse gases were produced during the combustion. As a result, China isfrequently criticized by global environmentalistsfor“deteriorating

10、the situation of global warming.”Hydroelectric power is a clean and renewable source of energy to provide electricity.According to XieXiufa, a senior engineer of the Three Gorges Bureau under the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee(Wertz, 2007), “Three Gorges Dam iscapable of generating 84.7 bil

11、lion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.Every year, it can reduce 50 million tons of coal consumption, approximately 100 million tons of carbon dioxide, 2 million tons of sulphur dioxides, around 10,000 tons of carbonic oxide and about 370,000 tons of nitrogen oxide.”Hence Three Gorges Dam remarka

12、bly contributes to the reduction of fossil fuels combustion, facilitates the alleviation of global warming. Judged by theexhilarating positive environmental impacts, Three Gorges Dam seems to be a necessary, beneficial and reasonable project despite its costs. Even though the project is an environme

13、ntal friendly alternative to fossil fuels combustion, the Three Gorges Dam has had destructive impacts on the environment. Some noticeable aspects include the increasing frequency of landslides; the disruption of biodiversity and ecological stability; deforestation and Yangtze River water pollution.

14、 Three Gorges Dam increased the frequency of landslides in Yangtze River area, as the fluctuations of water level and the huge weight of the water have affected the land stability. In one aspectthe water behind the Three Gorges Dam is beyond the withstanding limit of the Yangtze River bank (Jiang,20

15、07). So water starts to seep into the loose soil at the bases of rocky cliffs, make the land more prone to landslides.In another aspect this is ascribed to the fluctuation of water level. In summer, engineers drain the reservoir to accommodate flood water; however the water level is raised at the en

16、d of flood season in order to generate power. The frequent changes in water level damaged downstream dikes used for land control, triggered a lot of landslides (Campbell-Hyde, 2007). Frequency of landslide is also increased due totheloss in sediment and nutrients downstream. Yangtze River is vulnera

17、ble(Yang, 2007).Researcher Shai( 2007) stated the riverbed above the surrounding countryside is firstly raised by sedimentation. They are then held back by dikes. The dam trapped most of the silts, reduced speed of the Yangtze water flow behind the dam, which means water released by Three Gorges wil

18、l run faster, threatenthe dikes furthermore. Up to 2006, the area has already experienced more than ten landslides along one 20-mile stretch of riverbank(Jiang, 2007).According to Tan Qiwei, vice mayor of Chongqing, the most severe landslide was the one occurred in 2006 after the filling of the 600-

19、kilometre reservoir. 36 kilometres of shoreline had caved in. The landslide had produced waves as high as 50 metres (Chan, 2007). The diagram below (Anon., 2012) shows the extent that Three Gorges Dam affected land stability since its construction.In addition the dam has had serious impacts on the e

20、cosystem, disrupted the ecological equilibrium. Lpez-Pujola, J & M andRen (2009) found through research that the Yangtze River ecosystem is one of the most crucial biodiversity areas in China. About 6000 plant species, 500 terrestrial vertebrates and 160 species of fish evolve, breed and livethere.A

21、mong them, 47 species areendangered. The most precious species is Chinese River Dolphin Baiji, known as “Goddess of the Yangtze. In 1990, the population of dolphin Baiji was estimated to be 200. Since theconstruction of Three Gorges Dam in 1994, Baijis habitats inthe three gorges area were threatene

22、d;make the species more fragile and vulnerable. In 1998, only seven baijis are found in an officialsurvey. In 2003,the Three Gorges Dam began to fill the reservoir(Baiji,http:/www.wikipedia.org/, 2014). During this period, consequent problems of flooding, waterdiversion,water pollution, increase in

23、shiptraffic and the population relocation were raised. The living condition of baijis deterioratedso rapidly that in 2006, baiji was officially declared extinct. Not only baiji is affected, the impacts of the dam on Siberian Crane may also be catastrophic. It is estimated that 95% of the 3200 critic

24、ally endangered Siberian Crane normally winter in the Poyang Lake, a habitat off the South bank of YangtzeRiver (Siberian Crane,http:/www.wikipedia.org/,2014). Unfortunately, in order to store water forThree Gorges Dam , the area of the lake dwindled to only 200 square kilometres in 2012(Poyang Lake

25、,http:/www.wikipedia.org/,2013). If most of these winter lands are destroyed, the cranes will face the same fate of extinction as Baijis. This is a picture of the cracked bed of the dried area of Xieshan, which is part of Poyang Lake in east Chinas Jiangxi province (China Lake Drought, , 2012)The co

26、nstruction and function of Three Gorges Dam have triggered deforestation, which increased the amount of greenhouse gas emission. According to Ferraros research (2007),primarily,deforestation occurred on a large scale out of necessity. Farmlands are needed for the refugees whose homes and farms were

27、flooded by the reservoir. In addition, some factories took advantage of the power and transport opportunities promised by the Three Gorges Dam.Large scale of unregulated loggings was carried out in order to satisfy the demands for industrialization (Chan, 2007). This is devastating because forests p

28、lay a crucial role in negating greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. Some experts claimed that carbon dioxide produced during the construction of dam is negligible. Nevertheless researcher Ferraro (2007) statedcarbon dioxide produced from deforestation is responsible for 20% of the worlds g

29、reenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore carbon dioxide is normally released when the reservoir is flooded. Consequently, trees are likely to decompose at the bottom of the reservoir without oxygen. The dissolved greenhouse gas like methane will build up and be released to the atmosphere when water pass

30、es through turbines. This is the reason why ricDuchemin, a consultant for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claimed “hydro power may not be a clean alternative to fossil fuels (Graham-Rowe, 2005)”The Three Gorges Dam also caused severe pollution in Yangtze River, contaminated the

31、water source of many residents. The Three Gorges Dam acted like a barrier, trapped the waste materials in the river instead of washing them out to the sea (Chinas Three Gorges Dam, 1999). Yangtze River is already one of the most polluted rivers in the world (Jiang, 2007). The polluted water also sub

32、merged some sanitation infrastructure, deteriorated the condition (Threat of Pollution in the Yangtze,http:/wwf.panda.org/, N/A). Ferraro(2007) stated that “the reservoir has flooded 1,600 abandoned factories, mines and dumps; blocked approximately ten million tons of plastic bags, animal corpses and trees; more than 265 gallons of raw sewage are also dumped into the Yangtze every year.”Unfortunately,because Yangtze River is proximal to many major city centers, it is the only water source to about 300 million people.Th