Friday
March 13, 2009

In The Cost of Living, Arundhati Roy writes with passion about dams and their effects on human health and community, and on river ecosystems in the country of India, where the homes of thousands of people are submerged in the reservoir behind each new dam.  The cost of living—the price for electricity in the cities, for “development”—Roy argues, weighs too heavily on those who live on the rivers that are to be dammed. [Arundhati Roy, The Cost of Living, copyright © 1999 by The Modern Library.]

Dams provide municipal water supply, irrigation, hydroelectric power and flood control.  They were once thought of as “clean” energy producers; unfortunately, the long-term human and environmental costs are proving greater than previously thought.  Dams are gravely affecting Earth and people, particularly in developing countries like India and China. 

Dams cause irreversible loss to species and ecosystems.

In construction, the landscape is ripped apart. The water reservoir changes ecological systems: migratory fish lose feeding and breeding ground; water quality is degraded; and the natural flow of rivers and streams that transport important nutrients to plants and animals is interrupted. 

Dams have significant social impacts.

While dams provide a source of clean drinking water, irrigation and renewable electricity, the human consequences of dams must be weighed in the balance. Worldwide, dam construction has displaced 40-80 million people according to the World Wildlife Federation. Stagnant water allows diseases such as malaria to become more widespread. Changes to rivers impact the livelihoods of people who depend on the natural ecosystem. Cultural sites such as religious shrines are submerged.