Figure One: Three Gorges Dam Under Construction; Yiling, China.
Throughout the world sustainable energy is needed to help populations survive. With emerging new consumers, the need for more efficient energy sources is more prevalent than ever before, and as a result building dams and other technological structures are becoming the norm. Dams have come and gone over the years, becoming somewhat out of date with emerging nuclear, solar, and wind technologies being highlighted by the media. Though, because of societal pressures and the ideas of governing officials, the construction and development of dams seem to be the answer to energy problems. An unknown factor about the construction of dams is the inherent risks that can cause great harm to an ecosystem. The amount of materials used to construct the dams, along with the methods to clear the land where the dam is to be built may cause irreversible effects that may be unseen on the surface. The large amounts of fossil fuels and materials used can be measured during the process, but the destruction of wild-life and the effects that construction may have had on individuals and ecosystems can be long term problems that are irreversible.