Environmental Science, 10th Edition (Cunningham)

Chapter 24: Environmental Policy, Law, and Planning

GE Exercise: Tellico Dam

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Overview: Tellico Dam, p. 541

Nearly every policy debate hinges on arguments about some local problem or decision. For example, a two-block neighborhood called Love Canal helped initiate the Superfund and new laws about toxic waste disposal (chapter 21). For the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Tellico Dam, on the Little Tennessee River, was the site of a major dispute about what the act really meant. When the Tennessee Valley Authority proposed this dam in the early 1970s, opponents argued that it wasn’t needed, wasn’t cost-effective, and would destroy historic cultural features. The dispute heated up when spawning beds of a tiny fish, the snail darter, were discovered near the dam site. The ESA made it illegal for the Tennessee Valley Authority to destroy the only known population of this fish. Could the need for this dam override the power of the ESA?

The dam was completed in 1982. If you have the "populated places" layer turned on, you can see the names of historic places now submerged in the reservoir.

If the "borders" or "roads" layer is on, turn it off so you can see the dam.

1
Which direction is the Tennessee River flowing here?
A)The river flows to the northeast.
B)The river flows to the southeast.
C)The river flows to the northwest.
D)The river flows to the southwest.
E)The river flows to the north-south.
2
What large town is northeast of the dam?
A)Chilhowee
B)Oak Ridge
C)Nashville
D)Knoxville
E)Rockwood
3
What major city lies bout 150 km downstream of the dam?
A)Gatlinburg
B)Chattanooga
C)Nashville
D)Oak Ridge
E)Jackson
4
The text on p. 541 notes that the "God Squad" was called on in the Tellico Dam case. What is the "God Squad"?
A)A committee of structural engineers who are called upon to determine the danger of a catastrophic dam collapse and to recommend appropriate action to mitigate the danger
B)A committee of local powerbrokers who secretly make decisions about major development projects and utilize their political strength to ensure the manifestation of the projects
C)A committee that has the power to exclude a species from the Endangered Species Act if it deems that economic benefits outweigh a species' value
D)An informal organization of psychics and clairvoyants who are sometimes consulted to forecast the political and environmental viability of major development projects
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