Mankind is about to dive into an energy crisis as fossil fuel gauge falls near empty, and its population creates a global climate change. But we have realized this, is we are beginning to turn away from being dependent on fossil fuel. But what do we have to turn to?
Hydro power is definitely an alternative because it would definitely solve the energy crisis effectively. At first glance, it is also a clean energy source because hydro power does not emit any carbon dioxide or any other green house gas pollutant at all. Hydro power does bring with it a great amount of benefits.
To harness hydro power, we have to build dams. These dams hold rivers back and channel amount concentrated amounts through. This concentration draws power from gravity, which forces the water down a narrow path. There would be a mill wheel that was be turned by the pushing force of the moving water. The motion of this wheel would be help turn a turbine in that is made of magnets. These magnets would spin around a cylinder copper thimble and pull on the electrons in the copper. The moving electrons are what we call electricity.
There are multiple benefits that come around with building the dam. This includes storing the water. The stored water is very useful, especially when there is a drought. The dam would provide a constant supply of water for the needed and for agriculture. Not only so, it can be used as a reservoir to provide drinking water. If not so, then the pond provided by the dam can be used as a recreational area for scenery and fishing. This also creates a new ecosystem for the area and possibly increases the bio diversity. In addition to that, the dam would eventually pay for itself and maintenance is relatively easy. Hydropower is already providing the world with 19% of its electricity. Not only so, this method is extremely safe in comparison to other methods, such as nuclear. The dam can be easily shut down, so when there is a problem, it would be solve very quickly and in turn minimize the damage from whatever the problem is. However, since the designs of these dams are so simply, fixing anything would easily and it has very few breakdowns. Not only so, it can produce a constant supply of energy and the dam itself lasts for a very long time.
Although they seem very good, the dams have some very negative aspect to it as well. The flood is a double edged sword; it creates new habitats but it also destroys the one that is already there. By damming the river, the water builds up and floods the land around it, ruining both the homes of any animals or human living in that vicinity. Not only so, it stops the water flow and repels any fish species that climbs the river in their natural migration. The turbines that are used to generate the electricity kill the fishes in the lake as well. For the people that live in that area, they would have no choice but to move out, leaving behind homes and businesses to be swap under water. The silt that usually flows down the river would also be block by the dam as well. Not only so, the flooding usually covers woodlands, which in turn generates green house gases. Not only so, the destroyed trees could no longer absorb the carbon dioxide to help with the green house gas problem. There may be few breakdowns, but when the dam is destroyed, it creates a huge issue. All the water that it holds back would rush down the river and destroy anything in its path, which includes towns and human residential areas as well as wild life. These disadvantages are a real setback to think about when political leaders decide to build a dam.
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