Argument in Encounters with the Archdruid Essay Example for Free

debate in Encounters with the Archdruid EssayIn the third section of John McPhees Encounters with the Archdruid, the author observes the discourse between conservationist David Brower and Commissioner of the Bureau of rehabilitation, Floyd Dominy, on the merits of dekametres in the southwestern United States. Brower hates all dams, large and small, while Dominy sees dams as indispensable to our civilization. The Glen canon occlude and Lake Powell, which Dominy created, are the main cut back of debate between the two men.Floyd Dominy graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1932 and, after an unsuccessful stint as a teacher, became a county agricultural agent for the federal politics in Wyomings Gillette County. This was the time of the Great Depression and also a great drought in the Ameri tooshie Midwest, which quickly garnered the name of the dust bowl. Frustrated by the lack of pissing system supply available to farmers in his county, Dominy orchestrate the buildi ng of many dams in Gillette County, providing water to thirsty farmers and their livestock. Rewarded with a job in the Bureau of Reclamation for his efforts, Dominy became the Bureaus director in 1959 and oversaw the construction of Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River.Completed in 1962, the 710 pick tall dam built out of 4.9 million cubic yards of concrete has a reservoir (Lake Powell) that has a maximum capacity of 27 million acre-feet and is the one of the largest reservoirs in the world. Lake Powell has become a popular water recreation site and provides homes with about 1 million kilowatts of hydroelectric power and 8.23 million acre-feet of water and irrigation per year. Dominy views the dam as a great asset, both to provide utilities and to provide recreation Now pot can fish, swim, water-ski, sun-bathe. Cant you imagine going there with your family for a weekend, getting away from e actuallybody? But Mr. Brower says we destroyed it. (174)David Brower was born(p) in 1912 in Berkeley Hills, California. When he was young his father used to take him to the Sierra, where Brower found his love for nature. subsequently leaving his study of entomology at UC-Berkeley, Brower left for the Sierra, and became a world-class mountaineer, conquering over cardinal mountain peaks. John McPhee even mused that if he were to be setdown at night anywhere in the Sierra Nevada, with the coming morning he would know just where he is. After servicing as a decorated platoon leader in World War II, Brower started his work with the Sierra clubhouse, worthy the first executive director of the club in 1952. Over this remarkable period until his dismissal in 1969, Brower would become the worlds foremost naturalist and environmental conservationist.The flooding of Glen Canyon was very personal to Brower, and his failure to see the dams construction haunted him for the rest his life. He referred to it as Americas most regretted environmental mistake, and the greatest failu re of his life. (163) In 1952, the Echo Park and Split Mountain Dams were proposed, which threatened the Green and Yampa Rivers and Dinosaur National Monument. Brower led the Sierra Club into action. Successfully, under his leadership, the Sierra Club defeated the Bureau of Reclamation hands down. But the victory at Dinosaur Monument was tempered by the Sierra Clubs offer of support for a dam downstream at Glen Canyon a higher dam, in fact, than one proposed earlier by the Bureau of Reclamation. Brower spoke in favor of a high dam at Glen Canyon, a speech he came to regret until the very end. While his supporters urged him not to blame himself, he repeatedly reminded who of all time would listen that he could have done to a greater extent to stop it. He believed that the fact he dam existed was his fault. He felt that he was not adequately prepared for his own mission, and if he had been, the dam would not have been built.Brower referred to Glen Canyon as the place no one knew. Bef ore the construction of the dam and the creation of Lake Powell, Glen Canyon was one of the remotest places in the United States. few people ever set foot in the Canyon, and after the construction of the dam, no one else would ever see it. Brower viewed nature as a sacred place, a place that must be earned. He hated the idea of people developing state of nature areas. He felt that cities should have strict boundaries, and people should stay there. Brower and Dominy have conflicting views in this situation. Brower is disgusted by the development around Lake Powell and the destruction of the wilderness that is now beneath it. Lake Powell is a drag strip for power boats. Its for people who wont do things nevertheless the easy way. The magic of Glen Canyon isdead. It has been vulgarized. (240)Dominy, on the new(prenominal) hand, is proud that he has created such a bonnie lake and has made it accessible to the masses. Dominy is tired of severe to satisfy a noisy minority while tryin g to bring water, power, and recreation to the people. Im a greater conservationist that you are, by far. I do things. I behave things available to man. Unregulated, the Colorado River wouldnt be worth a good God damn to anybodyDo you want to foreclose this country the way it is for a handful of people? (240)Beside these arguments, there is also a more quantifiable side to the debate. The ecological detriments of the Glen Canyon Dam have been well-documented. Extensive changes were brought about in the Colorado River ecosystem by the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam. Most of these alterations negatively affected the functioning of the system and the native aquatic species of the river. The trim down supply and transport of sediment is the primary factor responsible for the degradation of the post-dam Glen Canyon ecosystem.When the dam was completed, and the rate of flow of the Colorado River was stifled, sediment traveling along with the river was blocked by the dam and bega n to build up in the Lake Powell reservoir. Due to the sediment-free water flowing evenly out of the dam and the associated extreme drop in water temperature, many species of fish, amphibians, and insects which use sediments for habitats, spawning ground, and protection, have been put at great risk.An early(a) problem arising from the dam is silt up aggradation. Aggradation is the accumulation of sediment where the river flow slows as it approaches Lake Powell. Aggraded sediment deposits accumulate upstream, eventually piling up hundreds of feet in a higher place the current reservoir level. Huge sediment deposits have already filled some of the upper sections of the reservoir. under current hydrological conditions, enough sediment flows into Lake Powell to potentially fill it up to the river outlet valve level within degree Celsius years. When silt reaches these safety valves, the dam will become unsafe and need to be decommissioned. Since the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam i n 1963, enormous amounts of sediment have been steadily accumulating behind the dam.While the impacts of sedimentation werent unsounded prior to the construction of the dam, significant problems have emerged with the relentless buildup of sediment behind Glen Canyon Dam.Economically, on the other hand, the Glen Canyon Dam has provided many benefits since its 1963 completion. It has provided water supply and power for much of the southwestern United States, and split of Mexico. The Glen Canyon Dam is part of the Colorado River Storage Project, implemented mainly to supply power to innate American reservations, Rural Electric Co-ops, government facilities, and municipalities. The Glen Canyon Dam supplies 75-85% of the power generation for this project. 85% of the dams water goes to irrigation projects.With the input of irrigation, the arid regions of these states have become fertile agricultural lands. Because of the high productivity of these areas, many customers in the United St ates are provided with fruits and vegetables year-round. Lake Powell has also provided many economic benefits. It is one of the most popular tourist sites in the southwest, bringing in about 4 million tourists and $2.5 million each year.The Glen Canyon Dam issue is a complicated one. Do the benefits of electricity and water outweigh the ecological detriments? Is there any other option besides building a dam to provide these utilities? It is difficult to find unbiased training weighing these issues fairly. In addition there are the more metaphysical, moral issues surrounding dams. Is it right to recruit ourselves upon nature is such a way? Are we really harming our future with short-sighted projects like the Glen Canyon Dam? The question is one of the true nature of progress and the advancement of civilization. Is the Earth meant to be subdued by man or to be preserved in a constant search for paradise? The supreme goal, I suppose, is to find a way to make advance and enrich our l ives without detriment to our environment.