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Herbert hoover inagural speech
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“This morning I came, I saw and I was conquered, as everyone
would be who sees for the first time this great feat of mankind.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Speech at the Dedication of Hoover Dam
Sept. 30, 1935
It was the great Hoover Dam, a great National Treasure. It was the feat of mankind which rose 726 feet above the bedrock of the river, altering the geography of an entire region, creating the largest artificial lake in the world and holding enough water to cover the entire State of Connecticut to a depth of ten feet. It was this dam that managed to provide for the entire annual electricity use of merely 2% of the United States population while simultaneously endangering four native species to the Colorado River, destroying the estuarine ecosystem,
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and flooding one of the most beautiful regions in the United States. “There are over 75,000 dams in the United States alone. That’s the equivalent of building one dam every day since Thomas Jefferson was the President of the United States.” Bruce Babbitt, Former US Secretary of the Interior In the late 1800s, the United States entered the age of an aggressive dam-building philosophy. If it flowed, it was dammed, and if there was any undammed river, it was considered lost energy with wasted potential. The Hoover Dam was widely acclaimed by the public, mostly because the Great Depression took a huge toll on the amount of jobs, while the dam created thousands of jobs for desperate families. In desperation of jobs from the effects of the Great Depression, thirty thousand public and private dams were built between 1950 and 1970, and at one point, half of the energy used in the United States was produced through hydropower alone. It was truly the golden age of dams. However, the consequences of impounding free-flowing rivers soon were revealed. The Sierra Club, an organization of preservationists founded by John Muir, originally fought the construction of dams solely because it destroyed the natural environment. Not only did they destroy the natural beauty, but they also endangered species, caused the extinction of species displaced people, destroyed the ecosystem and habitats, and also flooded the archeological history of the riverbed and canyon upstream. One of the biggest arguments supporting the creation of dams, besides the obvious irrigation and power supply, is recreation. Tourism is a huge part of dam revenue, generating nearly 8 million dollars a year at Hoover Dam. Not only does the dam offer guided tours of the inside and outside of the dam, but it also offers rafting and other activities around the dam itself. However, the dam flooded hundreds of canyons upstream which could generate a much larger amount of revenue from tourism. Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon within 3 miles of Hoover Dam, is a flawless example of this. Antelope Canyon is a 2 mile stretch of a narrow slot canyon, 120 feet deep, generating around 2 million dollars in revenue every year. It is one of the most photographed places in the world, and photographers, hikers, and sightseers are desperate for another canyon like Antelope Canyon to be revealed. Tourism from these flooded slot canyons could easily generate more revenue than the Hoover Dam. The beauty that dams like the Hoover Dam flood is completely irreplaceable. “We flooded out the rattlesnakes and the prairie dogs, and a few deer and a beaver or two, and a lot of beauty.
But we created a
lot more beauty. And we made it available, which it wasn’t before.”
Floyd Dominy, Former Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner
1989
When giant dams were proposed in the Grand Canyon and Utah’s Dinosaur National Monument,
“Should we also flood the Sistine Chapel
so tourists can get nearer the ceiling?”
David Brower, Environmentalist, Former Executive Director of the Sierra Club
1965
Clearly, our methods of obtaining hydroelectric power in order to save the environment, is in fact, ruining the environment.
[Justify the need for alternate sources of energy]
“Seeing thousands of wind turbines generating power in the Columbia
Gorge with no impact on salmon runs and water quality definitely raises
the question to how hydropower could be marketed as green energy.”
Ben Knight, Photographer, Director of DamNation
[Divert ‘green energy’ interests away from dams and hydropower and towards wind and solar power]
[Conclude]
Hoover, Glen Canyon, and the Three Gorges. What do these three things have in common? They are all man-made dams. Throughout the world, man-made dams affect the three pillars of sustainability. A legend of controversy surrounding these dams has created a unique background story, as well as shown the positives and negatives of these man-made wonders.
The one feature common to the Hoover Dam, The Mississippi river and the three gorges dam is that they all tried to control nature’s swings, specifically in the form of flooding. Before the Hoover dam was built, the Colorado river “used to flood spectacularly…but after 1900 the Colorado provoked a vehement response” (Pg 177). The response was simple, but large. The U.S. built several large dams, including the Hoover dam, on the Colorado to decrease its flooding and increase power and irrigation. Unfortunately, just as human control of the Colorado’s flooding increased, its organisms and habitats were detrimentally influenced, and the water became more and more salinated.
With concern over global warming growing, people are starting to turn a more serious eye toward cleaner sources of energy. Instead of solar power making a comeback as the ideal form, we are seeing a growth in the use of wind power. Wind farms are beginning to crop up all around the country. This new trend has gathered significant attention. Questions are being raised concerning the effects wind farms may have, from critics and supporters alike. Michelle Nijhuis, in the article “Selling the Wind” discusses the arguments on behalf of and in opposition to the increasing use of wind power, addressing what the consequences may be on the United States.
Oaths and promises were made by Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover in their inaugural addresses. Hoover and Roosevelt helped the country face the depression and transition into World War II. Both presidents’ inaugural addresses voiced concern and hope for the country. In their inaugural addresses, Hoover and Roosevelt expressed views about the future, the current situation, the challenges that were faced by our leaders, and how the Great Depression impacted the nation
Grand Coulee Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington State, built by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser It is among the most famous dams in the United States. The reservoir it created is called the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake. The reservoir is named after the United States President who seemed to love dams and hydroelectric power and who was involved with the project through to the final completion of the dam. The dam was built as part of the Columbia Basin Project as a way to irrigate the desert areas of the Northwest United States. The dam started during the 1930s as a public works project and finished toward the beginning of World War Two. The initial construction plan was reconfigured during construction for more height. Its height was determined by the point at which the water from the reservoir began backing up into Canada. The scope and size of the dam is hard to comprehend. It is over a mile long and taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza, in fact, all the pyramids at Giza can fit within the base of the Grand Coulee Dam. The dam is so large that a truck at the base looks like a toy, this creates some perspective into the dam's true size. When the dam was completed in the early 1940s it was the largest dam in the world.
Roosevelt’s First Inauguration Address “The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself,” said Franklin Roosevelt, the thirty-second president of the United States, in one of the most powerful political addresses ever delivered by an American president. President Roosevelt assumed the presidency during some of the darkest times in American history. He addressed the nation in a time of uncertainty and in a time of great fear. American Citizens were insecure about the economic situation of the United States, as they were in the middle of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a result of the stock market crash of 1929, also known as Black Tuesday.
In 1987, the President of the United States at the time was Ronald Reagan. Everyone has their differing opinions when it comes to judging the quality of the job a President has done. There are many factors that cause biased opinions. Some of these include your political party affiliation, your viewpoint on the social matters that were going on at the time, and your economic standing. Despite all these varying viewpoints, people can agree upon one thing when it comes to Ronald Reagan. That one thing is that in 1987, when turmoil due to post-war political issues split Germany into two sides, Reagan made a speech that is known as “The Speech at Brandenburg Gate” that altered the course of history. His exalted rhetoric was highly touted at the
Nixon Speech 1. What is the difference between President Nixon's contributions to American society are so vast that it would take me all of my time here this evening, as well as most of the first year of my Presidency, to list and discuss all of them with you. 2. What is the difference between Never has a President contributed so vastly to building a dominant foreign policy as well as such a large domestic agenda. Having grown from such humble beginnings, Richard Nixon, in the spirit of all that is American, fought his way to political stardom.
Claim: Solar power has the potential to become the United States main supply of energy and replace are needs for more conventional and harmful forms of power generation.
President Theodore Roosevelt did a speech about conservation and how important it is. There were a lot of people invited which include the Senators and Representatives in Congress; the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, and the Inland Waterways Commission. He begins to say that as a nation we have to conserve all of our natural resources either renewable or nonrenewable. Foresight is very important because it could help manage most our resources. Foresight means providence by virtue of planning prudently for the future, basically planning for the future. Foresight should be something that every American should be using. Conservation is considered one of the most important duties.
Palmieri, Nancy. “Off the Grid or on, Solar and Wind Power Gain.” USA Today 12 April 2006. Print.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, over half of the oil used in the USA is imported. Most of this imported oil is located in the middle east and is controlled by OPEC members. Subsequent oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession (Reduce). We may never be able to fully eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand (Reduce). One way we can reduce our reliance on oil is through investing in renewable energy. Solar power, wind power, and hydro power are all forms of energy which come from renewable resources. Unlike oil, solar, wind and hydro electric power is abundant and can be obtained locally.
Hydropower, the use of water to power machinery or produce electricity, provides the most renewable energy in the United States, and uses alternating current in most modern plants ("Hydropower…”). Hydropower relies on the water cycle and is a clean fuel source; it doesn’t pollute the environment like plants that burn fossil fuels. It is by far the most efficient way to generate electricity, being half the cost of using nuclear power, two-fifths the cost of using fossil fuels, and a quarter the cost of using natural gas ("Wind and Water…”). Also, hydropower is not subject to market fluctuations of embargos, and the average lifespan of a facility is 100 years. Hydropower also has many non-energy benefits such as water supply, flood control, navigation, irrigation, and recreation. However, it does face many environmental challenges such as impacts to aquatic habitats, aesthetic alterations of landscapes, changes to water quality, and interruptions of marine life ("Hydropower…”).
In the search for alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists and policy makers have focused on three options: nuclear power, energy from biomass; and a combination of wind, water, and solar power. Nuclear power, however, is much more costly and runs the risk of having it fall into the wrong hands where it could be turned into a weapon of mass destruction. The third option entails wind turbines, photovoltaic power plants and rooftop systems, concentrated solar thermal power plants,...
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.