Author: Rebecca Boyle, Reuters 8/2/2010
When China built their gigantic Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric facility, they probably weren't counting on it becoming a giant garbage trap. However, according to this article, that is exactly what is happening. The 37.5 billion dollar dam, which is located on the Yangtze River, is not only causing environmental problems but is also accumulating millions of cubic feet of trash. The garbage itself either runs off from the land during rains or is dumped directly into the river upstream. In some places it is so thick that it is possible to walk on the layer of floating waste. Although 3,000 tons of garbage are being removed from the dam every day, Chinese media states that it still has the potential to clog the dam's locks, stopping ships from being able to pass. This article both put the world's waste management challenges in perspective for me and exposed some of China's issues as a country. I think that it is ironic that the Communist Chinese government built this enormous symbol of power only to have it be compromised by mountains of trash. I also think it's pretty sad that, according to the article, environmentalists had suspected that the dam's reservoir would fill with debris but apparently weren't given much attention. If China has such a huge trash problem, as we saw from the video in class, why is so much effort being poured into giant construction projects rather than solving the issue at hand? Anyway, I feel bad for the Chinese people who have to endure living amongst their own garbage. The video we watched in class really had an emotional impact on me, especially during the scene where a Chinese woman picked through an illegal dump for food. The Chinese government may be working hard to give China a shining face (the Bejing Olypics opening ceremony comes to mind), but beneath all of those theatrics is a nation that is far from perfect.
China, and the whole world for that matter, needs to get on top of the garbage problem. Unfortunately, until a serious disaster happens as a result of the trash (say, the dam does jam or we become buried under tons of waste) I am inclinded to think that attention will be focused elsewhere. Sooner or later, though, all of those high-tech landfills we learned about are going to fill up. I just hope that we will be able to come up with a more long term solution before that time so that we can avoid the turnmoil that a "forced" change would cause.
Do you have any ideas for long-term solutions to the trash problem?
What is your opinion about the actions of the Chinese government?
What is your reaction to the China segment in "The Secret Life of Garbage" along with the issue presented in this article?
