Compare Financial alternatives for major purchases Speech or Presentation

Compare Financial alternatives for major purchases - Speech or Presentation Example the currently commercially available technologies (Americanrivers, 2011).The construction of dams also allow for the creation of many opportunities for water sports, the construction of campsites, hiking and biking trails as well as hotels, lodges, and many other businesses around the lakeshore. The increase in tourism in the area along with all the improvements in infrastructure around the area will help develop the local economy and benefit all surrounding communities. The subject of dam construction has been a hotly debated issue especially since the 1960’s when the environmental impact of dam construction started to be considered and analyzed. To start with constructing a new dam is an incredibly expensive and complex undertaking, usually with total project costs running into the billions and taking numerous years to complete (Pottinger, 1996). When a dam is constructed in a river system the whole balance of the ecosystem upstream and downstream of the newly constructed dam will be negatively affected or even completely destroyed as a direct consequence of disrupting the natural seasonal flow of the river system. Prior to the construction of the dam, the river has a natural flow that responds to the seasonal changes and brings a constant flow of debris and sedimentation that helps bring food and nutrients for all the natural wildlife living in the river system. After a dam is constructed the flow of the water is artificially limited and c ontrolled so the flow is usually constant and very restricted and only increased to decrease water levels or increase power production and does not correlate natural seasonal fluctuations. Furthermore all the sedimentation and the necessary food and nutrients carried with it will now be deposited in the impoundment upstream of the dam, destroying the ecosystem and killing most of the natural wildlife downstream. The evaporation rate of the river system will be significantly higher because of the vastly greater surface area