Hydropower dams can negatively impact the environment. More harm than good? Bach Hac Than Hydropower Plant officially stored water when the second bottom outlet closed on April 6. This means that the world’s second largest hydroelectric project has taken an important step towards its power generation goal on July 1. With the discharge door closed, the reservoir water level begins to rise and will reach 775 meters by mid-June. As a result, generation conditions are met. From August to September, the water in the lake will be stored up to 800 meters and then 825 meters in June 2022. The total storage capacity of the Bach Hac Than dam will be 20.627 billion cubic meters, accounting for 91% of the Kim Sa river basin. This is an important part of the Yangtze River flood control system, which has a capacity of 7.5 billion cubic meters. The total installed capacity of this second-ranked power plant in the world is 16 million KW. The capacity of a world-leading unit is 1 million kilowatts. New electricity will help China achieve its carbon neutralization goal. The Bach Hac Than Hydropower Station is an important part of the flood control system in the Yangtze River basin. At the same time, Bach Hac Than is a landmark project in the development of the global hydropower industry. However, while some people give information about clean energy of hydroelectricity, many argue that it can cause immeasurable damage to biodiversity, soil erosion, loss of archaeological and cultural sites. Even more than a million people will have to be relocated. Although the government has yet to reveal a detailed approach to meet the target of achieving carbon neutralization by 2060, hydropower has been featured in the 5-year plan 2021 – 2025 as well as vision 2035. Both were approved by China’s top legislature in March. In those plans, the government stated its intention to “step up the construction of hydroelectric facilities in southwestern China”. At the same time, promote wind energy and solar energy. “The dams will be a solid support to China’s energy industry and reduce carbon emissions. The construction of hydropower plants can bring benefits to irrigation, shipping and power generation, with great socio-economic value, ”said Professor Lu Qiang of Tsinghua University. Lin Boqiang, head of the Xiamen University’s China Energy Policy Research Institute, said the country is set to expand hydroelectric capacity. Because, water is the cheapest clean energy that can be used stably. “The dam construction is still controversial in China because of environmental concerns. However, the objection is no longer as strong as before, because the need to achieve carbon neutralization is increasingly urgent, ”said Mr. Lin. China’s dam construction activity began in the 1950s and has accelerated over the past two decades. At the end of 2018, Chinese hydroelectricity had a capacity of 352GW, accounting for 28% of the total global capacity and more than three times that of any other country. Heavy impact The Bai Hac Than Dam is worth 170 billion yuan ($ 26 billion) on the Jinsha River (Yangtze), in Sichuan province. The dam has made many people admire for the speed of its construction. China only took four years to build, despite the rugged terrain and far away, with the help of artificial intelligence technology. The Bai Hac Than emergency construction reflects the acceleration in China’s plan to expand hydroelectric capacity as a source of renewable energy. By the time Bach Hac Than reaches full capacity by the end of next year, China will be a country with five out of the 10 largest hydroelectric plants in the world. That pace of development has raised concerns about the impact of hydropower dams. China Green Development and Biodiversity Conservation said it is closely monitoring new dam construction projects. “It has been shown that dam construction harms the ecosystem and affects the habitat of wildlife,” said Wang Jing, a spokesman for the organization. We are concerned that some places will increase the development of hydropower projects to serve the government’s goal of carbon neutral ”. According to Fan Xiao, geologist and chief engineer of the Sichuan Department of Geology and Minerals, dams have a negative impact on the local ecological environment. Especially for aquatic animal biodiversity. They slow down the water flow rate and reduce the volume and purity of the water, Fan said. From there, it destroys the habitats of aquatic animals and hinders fish migration. Chinese scientists in 2019 announced the extinction of paddle fish. It is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. They are also known as Chinese swordfish, with a length of 7 meters. This fish is believed to have gone extinct from 2005 – 2010. The construction of the Cat Chau Ba dam on the Yangtze River since the 1970s has been a major contributor to this species’ decline, researchers found, by preventing fish from reaching their only breeding ground. upstream. According to the scientists, the river system is in trouble containing more than 4,000 aquatic species. However, dam construction, overfishing, water traffic and pollution have caused a lot of damage, with fish stocks declining and biodiversity rapidly declining. Mr. Fan said that building more hydroelectric plants is not the best way to reduce carbon emissions. “Water is a kind of clean energy, but we cannot ignore the huge carbon emissions generated by dam construction, excavation and migration,” warns the expert.

Starbucks switched to paper straws, but other tools still used plastic.

The trend of using paper straws

The campaign to stop using plastic straws has created a global craze over the past few years, with many reputable brands and a large number of consumers turning to paper straws.

In Vietnam, a number of major beverage brands have also responded to the messages of environmental protection, limiting the use of plastic waste, and encouraging the replacement of biodegradable and recyclable materials.

Pioneering brands can be mentioned as coffee shop chain The Coffee House, Trung Nguyen Legend Café, Starbucks Coffee … replacing plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable plastic spoons with bio straws, bags Bio, bio-spoon is completely biodegradable. Gong Cha and Phuc Long tea chains have replaced plastic straws with straws made from bagasse and paper.

But are paper straws really the same eco-friendly alternatives as the brands claim? Chung Shan-shan, scientific director of environmental management and public health at Hong Kong Baptist University, doesn’t think so.

According to SCMP, the main argument for using paper straws instead of plastic straws is that paper is biodegradable. That is, paper straws can decompose naturally and do not float in the ocean and then be swallowed by fish or turtles. However, environmental protection is not simply about swapping plastic for paper.

Although paper straws will decompose into smaller pieces, they are still capable of being swallowed by small animals. Furthermore, the term “biodegradation” can be misleading.

“The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Agency’s Biodegradability Test Standard considers the degree of degradation of different materials by keeping them at a constant temperature of 56 to 60 degrees Celsius for 180 days. . If the carbon content of that material is reduced by 60% then it can be considered biodegradable. So in fact, the so-called biodegradable materials can last longer than 180 days and even then, they do not disappear completely “, this expert emphasized.

“Although paper is biodegradable, it will not decompose even after a very long time if it contains too much pulp. You can find newspapers in landfills, where even after 10 or 20 years, the words on it can still be read.

Also, the garbage in the cities is ultimately in landfills, not in other spaces. The waste that decomposes in landfills still releases toxic methane gas into the atmosphere.

Paper straws spoil the taste of drinks

Paper straws easily spoil the taste of drinks.

Since China introduced restrictions on the use of plastic materials last year, non-biodegradable single-use plastic straws have begun to be phased out from the country’s food industry in late 2020. and the eco-friendly straws that are used nationwide.

Experts say, thanks to the trend of protecting the environment, paper straws and similar products are bringing huge revenue for manufacturing companies. According to a report by Huaan Securities Co Ltd, the size of the paper straw market in this country could reach 28 billion yuan (4.33 billion USD) by 2025.

But in addition to the controversy over the degradability, the paper straws have also complained about the quality, as well as affecting the taste of the drink. Most of the time, biological straws are worn out when left in water for a long time. They mix paper flavors into drinks, causing discomfort for diners.

Huang Xinyi, a 30-year-old worker in Beijing, told China.org: “Paper straws taste like paper or cardboard and cannot be soaked in drinks for long. That is why, I need to drink all the drinks right after I buy it.

No matter how environmentally friendly the paper straw is, it is having trouble being accepted by the consumer. “Paper straws also have an impact on the environment. On the one hand, they consume a large amount of wood resources, on the other hand, they also pollute the production process. More efforts are needed for research and further work.” developing other alternatives, “said expert Lin Boqiang from the Energy Policy Research Institute at Xiamen University, China.

When complaints related to paper straws became a popular topic, Chinese netizens made comments about alternative straws such as biodegradable plastic, metal straws …

Environmental protection half-hearted

Highland Coffee is the brand that propagates the most about environmental protection but still uses plastic cups and plastic straws.

While major beverage brands in Vietnam such as Gong Cha, Phuc Long, The Coffee House, Trung Nguyen Legend Café, Starbucks Coffee … are replacing straws, mugs, bags with environmentally friendly materials. Responding to customers’ requirements as well as environmental responsibility, there are still opinions that this is just a half-hearted change, stopping at the level of “cutting”, not giving up altogether.

Some companies only change straws, but still use plastic cups, others are the opposite. Or even the most controversial recently is Highlands Coffee, when shouting out loud environmental campaigns on media channels but doing it in a way unlike anyone else.

This chain of drinks uses the highly reputed beverage handle section: “Biodegradable, eco-friendly handle”. However, in addition to the handle, the other things are still plastic cups, plastic spoons, even using a plastic straw, not using a paper straw.

The online community said that the changes and calls of the above brands are still only polished and “colored”, instead of serious implementation for the environment, as required by consumers.

It is said that firms can not completely replace plastic utensils for the purpose of maximizing profits. To replace the whole process and equipment, it will take a lot of time and cost.

Regarding the trend of moving from plastic to paper straws, Chung assessed that people want to reduce the use of plastic products but do not want to sacrifice convenience. Even though they are paper straws, they are still disposable waste.

“Unless you get rid of disposable items in natural places with a lot of wildlife, swapping plastic straws for paper straws won’t make any difference in the city,” Chung added.

The only guaranteed way to make a difference to the environment, says the expert, is that people stop using disposable straws.

“Even if we create products using the most eco-friendly materials, if they are still single-use products, the Earth’s environment will still be affected.” said.

This expert suggests that users can drink it directly or use a chopstick or spoon to eat topping in a cup.

In conclusion, it doesn’t make much sense to switch to environmental materials unless we use reusable items.