RJA#9c: Presentation Plan

I. Introduction
A.) Attention gainer
B.) Thesis

II. Purpose of Dams
A.) Briefly summarize why dams are considered valuable, and what services they provide
1.) Drinking water
2.) Irrigation to drought prone/affected areas
3.) Power and electricity

III. Environmental Impacts
A.) Changes H2O
1.) Increases salinity and traps nutrients
2.) Causes water logging
3.) Traps sediments
4.) The reservoir actually warms the cool river water (affecting wildlife)
B.) Causes floods
1.) The dams can break from an overflow of water storage
2.) Dam engineers can (and do) periodically release water gates, flooding areas downstream
3.) Flood from precipitation
C.) Deforestation
1.) Strip the land of trees to make way for roads, accommodations for dam site
D.) Alters ecosystems/wildlife
1.) Hinders fish migratory and spawning patterns
2.) Wildlife dependent on rich soils/nutrients/crops along the river bed/shore are forced to relocate, adapt or die off.
3.) Cause disease from stagnant waters

IV. Economic Impact
A.) Displacement of people
1.) Usually rural people are displaced to urban areas (not used to the new way of life)
2.) Lose social networks
3.) Rehabilitation and resettlement plans are far from adequate. Large quantities of people forced to relocate find themselves starving, and economically disadvantaged.
B.) (in severe cases) Imports/Exports change
1.) People start growing what they can afford to sell - not what they can afford to eat
C.) Funding/guidelines for dam projects
1.) No guidelines/plan REQUIRED for relocation of mass quantities of people
A- people are promised retribution, but receive none
B- people are promised housing, but receive tin shelters
C- people starve to death in government rehabilitation areas
2.) The World Bank
A- their role as the main financier of large dam projects
3.) Nations in debt from construction of dams
4.) Resources not allocated like promised
5.) Overlook the impacts of the dam in order to gain status/power/control

V. Alternative methods to dams
A.) Methods that have a less severe impact on the environment
B.) Methods that have a less severe impact on the economy
C.) Using the money to research “greener” alternatives rather than jumping into ANOTHER dam project
D.) Re-using/maintaining dams ALREADY built, opposed to building more
E.) New ideas proposed (solar energy, hydrogen fuel cell technology, and safe nuclear technology)
F.) Dam De-Commissioning

VI. Conclusion
1.) Summarize key points
2.) Reiterate thesis and position