A river tumbles through forested ravines and rocky gorges towards the sea. The state hydro-electricity commission sees the falling water as untapped energy. Building a dam across one of the gorges would provide three years of employment for a thousand people and provide longer-term employment for twenty or thirty. The dam would store enough water to ensure that the state could economically meet its energy needs for the next decade. This would encourage the establishment of energy-intensive industry thus further contributing to employment and economic growth. The rough terrain of the river valley makes it accessible only to the reasonably fit, but it is nevertheless a favoured spot for bushwalking. The river itself attracts the more daring whitewater rafters. Deep in the sheltered valleys are stands of rare Huon Pine, many of the trees being over a thousand years old. The valleys and gorges are home to many birds and animals, including an endangered species of marsupial mouse that has seldom been found outside the valley. There may be other rare plants and 2 animals as well, but no one knows, for scientists are yet to investigate the region fully. Singer (1993), page 264. Peter Singer's discussion of ethics and the environment begins with this scenario. His description is loosely based on a proposed dam on the Franklin River in Tasmania. Singer notes that this is an example of a situation in which we must choose between quite different sets of values. Please answer the following question, as put by Singer: Should the dam be built?

Answer:

No, the dam shouldn't be built.

Eventhough dams create hydropower and large employment opportunities to the people, the truth is the dams hurts the environment.

These dams cause irreversible damages to rivers, wildlife, and local communities. The water gets blocked off in places that used to be flourishing with wildlife and not only it hurts the environment, but all the animals and birds that surviving in that ecosystem. The discharge from dams can disrupt the normal behavior routine and changes the travel speed in the migration animals and birds. This can end up killing species or animals who depend on fish and water to be at certain places where they are migrating.

People forget how ecosystems are so dependent on each other. If one species dies, that kills the species that eats that and so on. Rivers are one of the most valuable things in the planet. They move nutrients and vital sediments from land to ocean and feeds a plenty of fishes and other species. They provide clean water for millions of people. Rivers also transports million of tones of carbon to the ocean each year. They also protect is from floods and droughts that mau occur due to climate change.

Even when the government does create hydropower plants, they only meet 8% of the the nation's power needs. We have the technologies to get 100% power from the sun. It is the government that makes money by hiding things. Unlike solar and wind energy, hydropower sends the species into extinctions. New scientific research shows that reservoirs created by dams add nearly a billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air every year.

Nature has been surviving and thriving for thousands of years. Its time to stop disturb them and let it naturally do its things.