On Wednesday September 15 in class while discussing energy we briefly mentioned the idea of hydropower and that made me realize that I didn’t really know much about the subject so I decided to do some research about it. After looking up the topic online I learned that hydropower is basically harnessing energy from water for irrigation purposes and machine uses like windmills, sawmills and textile machines. Hydropower has been around for hundreds of years in countries like China, India, Rome and Britain and to this day continues to be growing.
In today’s world hydropower is mainly used to generate electricity and large dams are being built to harness this energy. Hydropower is an optimal way to gain energy in that in doing so no carbon dioxide is being emitted harming the environment. In addition it’s a low cost way to store energy and much cheaper than electricity from fossil fuels. In my opinion hydropower is an amazing way to gain energy. Its good for the enviorment, seems safe and gains energy needed. We should definitly look more and invest deeper into it.
In today’s world hydropower is mainly used to generate electricity and large dams are being built to harness this energy. Hydropower is an optimal way to gain energy in that in doing so no carbon dioxide is being emitted harming the environment. In addition it’s a low cost way to store energy and much cheaper than electricity from fossil fuels. In my opinion hydropower is an amazing way to gain energy. Its good for the enviorment, seems safe and gains energy needed. We should definitly look more and invest deeper into it.
I agree with you that hydropower is a better way to gain energy. However, there are many environmental concerns that go along with hydropower and especially with dams. For example building a dam on a river affects the river, the habitats in the river, and even affects the ocean that that river eventually flows into. The dam blocks the flow of fish that are no longer able to swim upstream past the dam. The dam also blocks silt and sand from flowing down the river. The sediments in the river get stuck at the dam and build up and the water flowing over the dam has less sediment than before. This allows the water to flow faster downstream of the dam. The faster flowing water then erodes away at the riverbanks. Dams have a negative long term affect on rivers and life that depends on the rivers. Dams cause a whole new set of environmental problems which are just as serious as the problems we are facing with fossil fuels today.
ReplyDeleteTook the words out of my mouth AG. I understand why hydropower appears like such a clean option for all the reasons given and more, but it is a very disruptive and expensive choice. Think about this: how can we build a dam with the size and complexity needed to harness the kind of energy that we would expect of it without oil powered machinery? It's unfortunate but we don't have the ability to sustain anything remotely close our current energy consumption with ANY form of alternative.
ReplyDeleteyes hydropower is a great way to produce energey. but over time it is harmfull to the environment. after a while dams basically destroy the river near the dam. hydropower would be a very good way to produce energey if we could invent new ways of not harming the river. although it does cost alot i think hydopower is something we should do some research on to make it better. i think it could be a good way to produce energy if we can make some improvements on it.
ReplyDelete