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Dammed Dams

The basic principle of a dammed dam is to prevent water from being passed. People have been continuing and to build and perfect these structures, not knowing the full intensity of their side effects. If one takes a weighing scale and put the benefits of the damns on one side and the side effects on the other side, the side effects will out weight the benefits 10 times over. One of these dammed dams has been placed on the river Colorado, actually not one but 40 of these dreaded dams. We should actually change the term River to a huge plumbing system.

The Colorado River is known as the most controlled and legislated river in the world. In order to satisfy the needs of humans we have created the one of the largest plumbing system in the world so that we can go to our fridge and have a glass of water. The water has been taken from the river and the fridge has bee powered by the hydroelectric generators, which have been installed on the dammed damns. The consequence of these damn has been devastating to the environment. I therefore urge the student government association to organize an environment exposition so we can educate the students of Embry Riddle.

These dammed dams have had devastating effects on the ecosystem, which depends on the constant flow of the river to survive. Fish such has salmon and other species have considerably declined due to the fact they cant reach their breeding grounds. There are four fishes which are listed on the endangered species list and for them to be listed on the list it took a law suite!! I mean why does it have to take law suite to acknowledge the critical habitat of these species?? If one decides to fish on this river one has to keep in mind that most of the water is destined for the fountains in Las Vegas and the swimming pools in California.

So I urge the student association to organize a exposition so we may realize that the water the fishes are swimming in is already bought. Where does all this water go? Water the most unique compound on earth, which is required to sustain life by all life forms, is been used to the extent that at our currant progress of water consumption we will have a water war in the next 2 centuries! So where does all this water go? These are the facts according to the Delaware River Basin Commission. The average person uses 50 gallons of water daily: toilet flushing, 19 gallons;

Bathing and hygiene, 15 gallons; laundry, 8 gallons; kitchen, 7 gallons; housekeeping, 1 gallon. Approximately two-thirds of residential interior water use is for toilet flushing and bathing. An old vintage toilet uses between four and six gallons of water per flush. A low Consumption model uses 1. 6 gallons. Leaks inside a toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water a day. Hot water leaks not only are a waste of water, but a waste of the energy used to heat the water. A top-loading clothes washer uses between 40 and 55 gallons of water per load. Front loading models use roughly half that amount.

A dishwasher uses between eight and 12 gallons per load. Less then 10 percent of the water used to sprinkle lawns is returned to the hydrologic cycle. The rest is either absorbed by the grass or lost to the atmosphere through evaporation. A garden hose discharges up to six-and-a-half gallons of water per minute under standard household water pressure. Soaker hoses and trickle systems reduce the amount of water used for irrigation by 20 to 50 percent. So this is where our water goes not to mention the heavy industrial usage. Therefore unfortunately we have to drain this river so that we can satisfy our ever increasing need of the compound.

I suggest the student government organization to call environmental companies so that they could show us how to use water effectively and increase the market for water saving devices. The economy of the Colorado River.. well due to several of the dammed dams we have built, it has caused several huge reservoirs some of them so big they have been termed as lakes. The best thing about humanity is that wherever there is an opportunity to make money, we will definitely grab it. We have seen the gold rushes before and now we see it again but the treasure to be found is not gold its tourists. Lake Powell reservoir attracts 2. million people annually. The value of the house boats along the lakes banks is estimated to be $190 million. This form of recreation is having devastating impacts on the local downstream environments.

The petroleum products dispensed on the lake Powell reservoir alone are equivalent to an Exxon Valdez oil spill every ten years. Fecal matter and other waste deposited in the reservoir are serious public health concerns, forcing periodic beach closings. So is this why we love to take vacations on the lake?? We take environmentally hazardous vacations on the river, deplete its fishes, use up all its ater, create electricity from the damns so that we can pump out more water from the very same river.

We our use of the river is so inefficient that we use the water to create snow so that a skier will pay a nominal fee for the ski lift and have a nice day Well this a sad situation we are brought up on us and as u can see the side effects definitely out weights the benefits. So I urge the student government association to organize a environment exposition and to call in environmental companies to educate us on how we acquire water to feed a fountain in Las Vegas. Have a nice day and have a glass of water.

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