China - World's Largest Dam Completed on China's Yangtze River (Three Gorges Dam)

Xinhua News Agency (China) ^ | May 20, 2006

[kinoxi]

cracks in it during construction, could rival(or surpass) a nuclear attack when this thing breaks

[Indy Pendance]

I just saw something on TV about this. How they moved and flooded a town. Pretty amazing.

[jwh_Denver]

Used to take the Chinese 20 years to build a damn; all the concrete was carried by hand.

[staytrue]

It is so big, some geologists think something bad will happen to the earth due to the weight of the water.

[A CA Guy]

Just dam, you have to wonder how many died building it.

[kinoxi]

i read a bit about that as well. wouldn't want to live anywhere near that place until this thing fails.

[catholicfreeper]

Well that pretty concerning lol. Is this bad thing local in nature or Global like the poles moving?

[staytrue]

local in nature.

[skimask]

If something bad does happen, it's Bush's fault.

[thoughtomator]

Oh good. Something to retaliate against should they get uppity.

[Cementjungle]

According to project development corporation officials, the volume of floating rubbish into the Three Gorges Reservoir amounts to 100,000-200,000 cubic metres each year, most of which accumulates in flood seasons.

The government has set aside US$5 billion to build sewage treatment plants around Chongqing and other upstream cities to prevent the river from turning into a cesspool, Cao said

[bridgemanusa]

Good. Now maybe the price of concrete will go back down. It has almost doubled in the US since they started building that stupid thing.

[kinoxi]

thanks, i needed a good laugh :)

[kinoxi]

ok, had my laugh. what materials do you currently need from china(or surrounding suppliers) ?

[ovrtaxt]

Good. I hope the price of portland cement goes down now.

I won't even begin to tell you what copper has done lately. Yikes!

[ovrtaxt]

Is steel way up now? Copper wire has almost doubled in a month!

[ovrtaxt]

NewsflasH- this is a global economy, and portland cement is a commodity just like oil.

Believe me, China and India's consumption has greatly affected the price of building materials.

[ken5050]

Concrete curing is an exothermic ( heat-releasing) process. I remember reading somewheres that the concrete in the thickest part of the Hoover Dam still hasn't completely cured..Amazing..

[ovrtaxt]

I've read that too.

It's amazing how much radiation can be retained by concrete, and released over time. A western facing concrete wall here in FL will emit tangibly noticeable heat until about midnight or so.