Thesis: Disadvantages of Hydro Power

Sample Thesis Paper

In my personal viewpoint I suggest we not use Hydro Power as a source of electricity in the 21st century due to the fact that it will cost large amounts of money to have successfully completed dams and that it will take heaps of our environments space to build such dams. The most decent way to go is using maybe solar or wind power energy which take less room and are a sufficient source to provide us with electricity.

It is well known that hydroelectric power has a large number of impacts on the environment. Flooding a large area of land where water is to be stored not just takes up large amounts of land it also poses a threat to the natural wildlife living in the area, as well as native villages and people. Flooding of large areas of land can also be a good breeding place for mosquitoes; this can cause an epidemic of mosquito born diseases such as malaria and dengue fever (Cassedy & Edward 2000, p.138). As well as these problems upstream, downstream the water coming out of the plant can contain low dissolved oxygen which can also be harmful to wildlife and people (L.S.A. Economics of Hydropower and the Environment, August 2003). The most important environmental risk that these power plants pose is the impact on migrating fish, which prevents them from swimming upstream. To solve this problem things like lifts and elevators have to be installed to help he fish get past the dams. (Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program 2005). As well as environmental hazards, a question of financial and political issues arises due to the construction of such large projects. Questions such as the construction expense of these multibillion dollar projects, which is consequently high. These hydro projects must operate for long periods of time before commencing to make a profit. If the river that supplies the hydroelectric power plants flows into two or more countries then legal disputes arise about the ownership of said river. Building a dam can reduce the amounts of water in the neighboring countries, in some cases this may lead to a political conflict between these countries (IEA 2005).

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