The Three Gorges Dam Social Sciences Research Paper

Identifying Technical and Non-technical Issues About Three Gorges Dam
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THREE GORGES DAM
Abstract
The Three Gorges Damn stretches more than two kilometers across river Yangtze. The Dam is located in Hubei province in south-western China. The Dam was inaugurated in 2006, and it started to generate electricity in 2003. The Dam was given the name Three Gorges due to the canyons formed by gigantic limestone cliffs. This is a dam that gives the most beautiful landscape in the world and has been a tourist attraction site worldwide. The beauty of the Three Gorges Dam is inspired by poets and artists of China, especially Li Bai. The idea of constructing the Three Gorges Dam originated from Sun Yat-sen 80 years ago. This was because there was mass flooding around the area. The Three Gorges Dam is one of the largest construction projects because of its convolution, technological, environmental, and social systems integration. During the construction of the Dam, more than 1.2 million people were displaced from their original places.
Additionally, several towns and cities were flooded. The length of the reservoir is 600 kilometers. The amount of energy produced by the Three Gorges Dam can support China. This is because the Dam generates 11 times more power than the Hoover Dam. The Three Gorges Dam captured the media's attention all over the world because of its massive impact on the environment. Environmental experts from China and other parts of the world opposed the construction of the Dam because it was a massive threat to the environment and wildlife. However, China's authorities state that the project was supposed to show the dominance China had achieved in technology. The Chinese also argued that the Three Gorges Dam's construction was one of the most outstanding achievements China had achieved in many years. The paper will address technical and non-technical issues about Three Gorges Dam.
Key Words: River Yangtze, Three Gorges Dam, systems approach, Chinese government, environment.
Introduction
The Three Gorges Dam is one of the largest projects built in the world. However, it is the most controversial project because of the massive economic, environmental, and social impacts. For example, there is an indication of serious problems that have started to develop in recent years. In 2007, media groups started to report on developing threats like pollution, landslides, and flooding people were exposed to. There was also an increase in political and social turbulence and dissatisfaction associated with displacing millions of people. One of the biggest controversy causes by the Dam was water pollution. Scientists suggest that 70% of the freshwater got polluted after the construction of the Dam. Some officials from China were also concerned by some of the unresolved challenges caused by the project. The secretary-general of Yangtze, Weng Linda, stated that the challenges had become more severe than expected. In 2007, Chinese officials admitted that the DamDam's construction had caused a series of ecological ills like pollution and landslides. These environmental impacts were not only witnessed in China but the neighboring countries. Pollution, erosion, and landslides were a ...