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Renewable energy

Water power: Falling water

Hydroelectricity is essentially using water falling downhill to turn turbine generators as it flows past. Building a dam is a great way to boost the water's generating power. A enormous wall of concrete, usually built across a river valley, traps the river water behind it, which builds up into a giant reservoir creating huge water pressure to spin the turbines.

What could seem less polluting and environmentally friendly than
water? Building a dam is such a huge engineering task that it can
have big consequences for everything and everyone living both
upstream and downstream of it.


Next: Dams and greenhouse gases


The Hoover Dam, USA

The Hoover Dam, USA
Click to enlarge


ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED

Do no harmText equivalent: Do no harmHydroelectric projects can require such huge scales of engineering that they can cause great disruption to the livelihoods of many thousands, or even millions of people both up and down stream.Doing goodText equivalent: Doing goodHydroelectric projects can help many people by providing electricity from free natural resources like rivers. But does this good outweigh the potential harm to people and local environments?Future generationsText equivalent: Future generationsHydroelectric dams can fundamentally change the wildlife and uses of land over a very wide area, and for thousands of miles downstream. Today’s action in building a dam may affect the lives of future generations and even those in another country, in ways that are difficult to undo.Protecting the commonsText equivalent: Protecting the things that belong to everyoneChanging the way water flows with dams will change the potential for farming and industry for everyone downstream. Some areas will be flooded, others will dry up. Is this fair?Managing conflicts of interestText equivalent: Managing conflicts of interestHow can governments balance the needs of a whole country for more energy against potentially taking away the livelihoods of some of its citizens?The ends vs the meansText equivalent: The ends versus the meansDoes the provision of a reliable electricity supply justify the potentially destructive environmental changes that a dam could bring about?

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NOT RATED unknown 15-10-08 10:38
hi,i think this is a great website and thanks
NOT RATED 06-09-16 10:24
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