Freshmen Year: Hetch Hetchy Debate



Freshmen Year Debate: Hetch Hetchy Debate


  • For this debate/presentation we had to gather lots of information about the Hetch Hetchy Dam which is also known as the O'Shaughnessy Dam. This dam impounds the Tuolumne River and it was controversial because the dam was built in the Hetch Hetchy Valley within Yosemite National Park, and obviously national parks are protected and many were upset that this dam was built in an area where nature is protected. This dam was created to be able to provide a steady water supply for the city of San Francisco. Many preservationist believed that the dam should have not been built because it destroys habitats and greatly affects the ecosystem within that area, but the city of San Francisco believed that it was necessary for the health of their city. What we did in our class was start to study about some of the benefits and consequences that could come with constructing and keeping this dam, we also had to keep in mind what would happen if we were to remove this dam. Now the class was divided into two with one side that was for keeping the dam and the other which was against keeping the dam. The final product was participating in a class debate where both sides we are able to argue on why they believed they were correct, we had to attempt to persuade the teacher Mr.Jones and other authentic audience members who also attended. 

  • It was important to learn about this topic and be able to take part in this project because it provided us with more knowledge about serious problems coming into play in communities all around the world and it provided us with plenty of helpful skills. This project helped most of us realize how the resources that we have here at Earth are slowly becoming more and more scarce such as clean water and being able to access that. This is causing companies or organizations to start making executive decisions to be able to preserve what is becoming so scarce. Another reason for dams other than just preserving clean water is also using it for a source of energy. We need new sources of energy, we have to stop relying on coal and other sources that are emitting harmful gases towards the atmosphere because we are suffering a problem with global warming. This is important to keep in mind and know more about the planet that we currently live on. This debate also taught us important and useful skills such as oral communication, collaboration, and persuasion. These are very useful skills that we are going to need as we move into the working environment. This project was a very unique and useful way to learn more about controversial actions that organizations have to take.

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