Dam Economics (Development Translation Series)

Author: [USA] P. McCullough [Patrick McCullough]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-11
Features: This book analyzes the relationship between rivers and humans, the environmental impact of dams, and the impact of dams on humans from a macro perspective, objectively evaluating the effects of dams on ecological environments and human living environments. From a micro perspective, it delves into technical issues of constructing large dams, the benefits of large dams, dam irrigation, the water power revolution, and the relationship between dams, industrial development, and human progress. The arguments are insightful and well-founded. The book objectively assesses the substantial impact of constructing large dams on human living conditions. Some dams have brought benefits to humanity, while others have severely damaged the surrounding environment, posing significant threats to the survival of humans and other organisms. The rational use of water resources and hydropower is one of the natural laws that humans must adhere to in the process of social development. Only by living in harmony with nature can human society have a bright future. The economic, cultural, and spiritual lifestyles of humans in South Africa must be met, and the maintenance of healthy river basins should be encouraged, while the forces that destroy river basins, i.e., the forces that overall damage nature, should be restrained. In the long run, without healthy river basins, there can be no healthy social existence.