The progressive era in the United States helped to spawn one of the first great conservative movements in the country. The conservative movement occurred as a result of the troubling theory that the fast paced urban development and industrial growth of the nation would lead to the extinction of wilderness areas in the United States. One of the most significant events during the era was that of the debate over the construction of the O 'Shaughnessy Dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley located in California’s Yosemite National Park. After an earthquake crippled the city of San Francisco in the early 1900’s, the residents of the city recognized that they would require better-equipped ways to make certain that they had a steady supply of electricity and
As recent April 2015 there was a lawsuit against San Francisco from the Restore Hetch Hetchy group, to shut down the dam. 2 In my opinion I agree with the shutting down of the dam; I believe that nature should be left the way it is. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is destroying a piece of land that is the homes of multiple types of animals. Back in the early nineteen hundreds, when the debate start about The Hetch Hetchy dam being built a large majority of people did not realize or care how valuable nature is. Now in the present day, people are realizing how valuable our national parks are, and how we should stop destroying them.
By describing in detail how the canyon looked before after the dam was built, the audience can fully grasp the dramatic effect the damn had on not only the natural wildlife and landscape of the area but also how it affects the lives of the people who lived there. All the details that the author puts into describing how the land looked before the damn came, makes the argument seem much more credible since it rhetorically asks the audience why the people of Colorado would want to demolish such a naturally beautiful place? It makes the reader think if the pollution and destruction of the natural ecosystem is much too high a cost for to allow people to see the
Throughout the centuries, humans have been attempting to find a way to power homes, cars, and other luxuries in the most efficient way possible. Coal and oil were two major sources that begin being exploited during the industrial revolution. Both have caused great controversy over the years from lawsuits to strikes. A new way to drill oil, hydraulic fracturing, was discovered and was an efficient means of drilling until its effects became prevalent. Also, when coal began to run out, a new method called mountaintop removal took hold, but continues to damage the earth. Ethical decisions are made every day in these industries. The question becomes, what is more important: making energy, making money, or a safe environment? In these two cases it
If a lake is cut from the ocean and has no large fish as predators (only dragonflies), then the sticklebacks will have a better chance at surviving and reproducing because the sticklebacks will be better adapted to the environment (presence/absence of a pelvic bone) and have little to no predators. The hypothesis was supported. Before the experiment started, background knowledge was collected to better the knowledge of the lakes. Bear Paw Lake is an enclosed lake, meaning no predators could get into the lake.
Pearl Woodrum saw her fears realized when the dam burst in 1972. As the residents of Buffalo Creek slept soundly in their beds, they would not be able to envision the horrors that would occur on that dreary February morning. They knew that any time there was a substantial amount of rainfall in Buffalo Creek, the creek would rise and the lack of an early warning system meant they might never know if a heavy rain heralded disaster until it was too late. Residents also knew that the dam was not stable, a fact the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed when it concluded that the dam was “basically stable but could be overtopped and breached.” William Davies was the federal geologist who conducted the study and stated that if the dam broke, “flood and debris would damage a church and two or three houses downstream, cover the road and wash out the railroad.”
The situation is that a young girl drowned and her body is stuck in an area of heavy current in the river. It will be impossible to retrieve her body without building a temporary dam to divert the flow of water to allow divers to safely retrieve the body. However, the Tamassee River is a river protected by the Wild and Scenic River Act, which is federal law. It states that the river cannot be altered from its natural state in any way, which includes the drilling into the bedrock to install the temporary dam.
The effect on the First Nations depending on the land surrounding Muskrat Falls must also be considered. However, the intensity and duration of this inconvenience on a small number of people is largely outweighed by the number of people the project would affect positively. The hundreds of thousands of citizens receiving clean energy and jobs from the dam dwarf the several hundred inconvenienced by the construction. The ethical principle of formalism would
The Mississippi’s water is provided by the Atchafalaya, in fact it is said that if the Old River Control System had not been built then the Atchafalaya would have already broken through to the Mississippi River and taken over. Because the Mississippi is such a useful body of water it is important that the Corps do not allow this to happen. Transportation is highly dependable on the Mississippi;
The debate in the early 1900s over the Hetch Hetchy dam showcased the uprising of citizens deemed as protectionists, such as John Muir, and how they differed from conservationists, such as Gifford Pinchot. The arguments and results of this issue are still relevant today, as there is currently a debate concerning whether or not to restore Hetch Hetchy to its former glory. Gifford Pinchot supported the building of the dam because he was a conservationist. This means he believed the dam could be a beneficial natural resource because it would provide water to San Francisco. He opposed protectionist views, like Muir’s, in the reading “Giving a Dam!” and refuted preservationist’s policies.
Our topic, the influence of the Kinzua Dam on the Seneca Nation, was chosen after weeks of deliberation. To begin finding a topic, we researched and bounced ideas off of each other to see what to consider more seriously later on. Our previous topics have been near the early 1900s, and we looked more closely at topics near there. However, despite a lack of specifics, the Native Americans began to interest us. In September, the Erie Times-News published an article for the 50 year anniversary of Kinzua Dam, including details of the Seneca Nation’s removal. This sparked our interest and seemed to fit the theme very well, so we soon settled on the Seneca Nation and Kinzua Dam.
To begin, the history of the Florida Everglades would amaze you. Imagine having no fresh water to drink or do anything with. “The construction and population increase in the Everglades upset is fragile ecosystem, and cut off the flow of fresh water to the Everglades.” As stated on page 113 and paragraph 4.
In the town of Johnstown they had steal industries that were booming, and it gave steady paychecks to the workers who worked really hard and long shifts of 12 hours long 6 days a week. Since the town was in a valley with hills surrounding it, it didn't have much of a chance if a flood ever occurred. But the people of Johnstown had no idea of the risk they were at. There was a man made lake that was held by a dam that was made of earth but it was so poorly built that it sagged in the middle and leaked, and it was not easy to release water if it ever became too full. In late May of 1889 came clouds of rain as it rained it filled up the reservoir.
After I had finished the reading of The Buffalo Creek Disaster, I was unable to calm my excitement down for a while. This is the kind of things that I probably will never encounter throughout my whole life, but I feel fortunate for having an opportunity to read the case. There are several impressions, reactions and comments that I have in terms of the buffalo creek disaster itself and the litigation process that is described throughout the book: 1. Taking about the initial reaction of Pittston after the disaster happened, they blamed for causing the dam breakdown in God’s action. Pittston did not even think about the impacted people and communities in the first place, instead, they were anxious to get rid of the potential liability, which was
The reason for the river’s corrosiveness is due to the fact that federal law required the river to be treated with an anti-corrosive agent in order to be considered a safe source of drinking water, but the state did not comply with