China Builds Dam for Hydroelectric Project
This Xinhua file photo taken in December 2004 shows the aerial view of the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province. The axis of the dam is 2,309 meters, the longest in the world. The construction crews expect to finish pouring concrete for the massive Three Gorges Dam on Saturday, completing what China calls the world's largest concrete structure, state media reported Friday, May 19, 2006. (AP Photo / Xinhua, Du Huaju) - Megadams have shown over the past half century that they are not the answer. At least, not the best answer, not the best solution. Constructing ponds, lakes, and planting trees may be a far better solution with zero calamitous spillover costs to the environment. Waangiri Mathai received the Nobel Prize for what?? Planting trees - millions of them!! Why don't we learn from Waangiri Mathai??
Saturday, May 20, 2006 2:57 AM EDT
The Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — Construction crews finished the dam of the world's largest hydroelectric project on Saturday, state media reported.
The construction of the 607-foot high, 1.4-mile long dam across the Yangtze River does not fully complete the hugely controversial Three Gorges Dam project.
The last 12 of the dam's 26 generators are to be installed over the next two years, said the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corp. The project is set to be completed in 2008, a year ahead of schedule.
Begun in 1993, the project has steamed ahead with the backing of the communist leadership despite objections to its $22 billion cost and environmental and social impact.
More than 1.3 million people have been relocated to make way for the dam and its reservoir.
Environmentalists and engineers have warned that the reservoir risks becoming polluted with waste from cities and towns upriver, many of which lack adequate sewage treatment plants.
