At the beginning of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam there were several problems. There were several protesters and opinions about the dam before the Three Gorges Dam project was even started.1 China had a history of several dam failures in the mid-1970s that were responsible for thousands of deaths. The three gorges (Xiling, Wu, and Qutang) present scenery that constitutes a tourist attraction.2 The dam would have been just over 600 feet high, 7,500 feet wide, and would have held over 97 trillion gallons of water. Due to population growth, China has begun using coal-fired power plants1 and shipping, which causes acid rain to fall on the region, making the Yangtze River one of the most polluted rivers in the world.4 It doesn't help that the Yangtze River flows correctly. through the industrial heart of China. Using the river to transport their goods to other parts or to China increases pollution.2 Pollution from mines, hospitals and waste dumps is another big problem for the river because pollution is accumulating around to the dam.1 With the Three Gorges Dam, landslides will occur due to rising water tables and large slopes with unstable soil due to local agriculture, which will cause more sediment to be added to the river.3 And since the dam is located on a fault line, there will also be an escalation of earthquakes. There is a huge decrease in sediment discharge; which caused 90% sediment loading in thousands of other reservoirs. Before the dam became operational, it was holding back water and sediment.4 Water levels were rising faster than expected, so the completion date had to be pushed back.1 Scientists even predicted that 70% of the discharge of the sediment would have been trapped for the first two decades and 44% would have been stored... half of paper... due to the flood. With more and more tourists visiting the dam every year, there is an underlying question: will increased tourist traffic spell doom for an already critical environment? Tourists will be able to see more scenery, but at what cost? I believe that building the Three Gorges Dam was a mistake and that the Chinese are just looking for a simpler lifestyle at the expense of the environment. I kept reading about how this would make trade easier and how relocated farmers were told to grow citrus when all they know is growing grains. Life may be easier for government and large commercial industries, but it will not be easier for the people who have to work under those authorities and conditions. There will always be some prejudice because the government has gone beyond what environmental organizations suggest.