Hoover Dam Pros And Cons
Hydroelectric
The Hoover Dam does more than attract tourist, it provides power to 8 million people (32). Instead of using a heat source to create steam to turn a turbine like most power plants, hydroelectric plants use the natural flow of water and divert it through a turbine via a dam. The estimated available hydro energy in the United States, discounting wilderness preserves and the likes, is 65 gigawatts. One significant advantage of hydroelectric power in the U.S. is that there are existing dams across the nation that are not currently powered, thus possessing the immediate potential to add roughly 12 gigawatts to the 7% of the national power usage that the hydroelectric industry already supplies. The best place for a dam is at a significant …show more content…
Continued apathy and negligence of of the environment is just not viable any longer. The only fossil fuel that is capable of lasting into the next century has the most concentrated, detrimental, and long term effects on the environment. Oil has some of the most horrific and immediate effects on wildlife when mishandled. Oil spills, while on the decline, produce abhorrent conditions that harm not just the wildlife present, but that ecosystem as a whole. Additionally, oil is the biggest player when it comes to fuel in the transportation sector, which is notorious for the greenhouse gas emission that arise from it. If those were not reason enough to make significant strides away from oil, oil is not projected to even make it into the second half of the century. Given this, and that we have the resources to pursue renewable energy, it is simply impractical to continue to maintain oil as a primary fuel source. Natural gas seems to me to be equally dangerous despite having the lowest emissions of the three because it is deceptively harmful. On the surface it burns clean but often methane gas leaks in transportation and even the enormous pool of issues that fracking leads to are too frequently overlooked. Again, irrespective of these, natural gas must be abandoned soon or we will exhaust natural gas reserves before oil is totally depleted. The solution to the fossil fuel problem lies in renewable and green energy. Solar energy is still young but it has enormous potential. Wind energy works very well but it can be a nuisance and an extreme hazard to airborne wildlife. Hydroelectric energy can be more widely implemented but the dams are liable to disrupt spawning patterns of some fish, particularly salmon. Nuclear energy is incredibly efficient but runs into social and economic barriers. After my research, I have come to the conclusion that the best solution
The Hoover Dam does more than attract tourist, it provides power to 8 million people (32). Instead of using a heat source to create steam to turn a turbine like most power plants, hydroelectric plants use the natural flow of water and divert it through a turbine via a dam. The estimated available hydro energy in the United States, discounting wilderness preserves and the likes, is 65 gigawatts. One significant advantage of hydroelectric power in the U.S. is that there are existing dams across the nation that are not currently powered, thus possessing the immediate potential to add roughly 12 gigawatts to the 7% of the national power usage that the hydroelectric industry already supplies. The best place for a dam is at a significant …show more content…
Continued apathy and negligence of of the environment is just not viable any longer. The only fossil fuel that is capable of lasting into the next century has the most concentrated, detrimental, and long term effects on the environment. Oil has some of the most horrific and immediate effects on wildlife when mishandled. Oil spills, while on the decline, produce abhorrent conditions that harm not just the wildlife present, but that ecosystem as a whole. Additionally, oil is the biggest player when it comes to fuel in the transportation sector, which is notorious for the greenhouse gas emission that arise from it. If those were not reason enough to make significant strides away from oil, oil is not projected to even make it into the second half of the century. Given this, and that we have the resources to pursue renewable energy, it is simply impractical to continue to maintain oil as a primary fuel source. Natural gas seems to me to be equally dangerous despite having the lowest emissions of the three because it is deceptively harmful. On the surface it burns clean but often methane gas leaks in transportation and even the enormous pool of issues that fracking leads to are too frequently overlooked. Again, irrespective of these, natural gas must be abandoned soon or we will exhaust natural gas reserves before oil is totally depleted. The solution to the fossil fuel problem lies in renewable and green energy. Solar energy is still young but it has enormous potential. Wind energy works very well but it can be a nuisance and an extreme hazard to airborne wildlife. Hydroelectric energy can be more widely implemented but the dams are liable to disrupt spawning patterns of some fish, particularly salmon. Nuclear energy is incredibly efficient but runs into social and economic barriers. After my research, I have come to the conclusion that the best solution