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=Itaipu Dam= ==

Built across the Parana River, the Itaipu Dam "is the second-largest hydroelectric facility on earth" (Augustin 76) and is "one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World" ( Cleveland ). The name Itaipu is from "the Guarani language,... [meaning] 'the sound of a stone'" ( "Itaipu." ). This modern marvel pays for "almost all of Paraguay's electrical needs" (Augustin 76) and helps "the water shortage problems brought on by droughts" (Bateman and Denshire 22). This project started "in 1966 when the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Brazil and Paraguay signed a joint statement" ( Krauter ) that would allow both countries to study renewable energy sources. This dam "produces more power than 10 nuclear power stations" ( Krauter ), and creates "as much energy as burning 434,000 barrels of oil a day" (Augustin 76). The actual building of this project "in 1975 and was not completed until 1991" ( Cleveland ). In order to build this marvel, "engineers had to move the course of the Parana River" (Bateman and Denshire 22). In order to do this, workers had to move "50 million tons of earth and rock to dig a 1.3-mile bypass" ( Cleveland ). This was a great challnge, and it took "almost three years for workers to make another channel for the river" (Baterman and Denshire 22). Paraguay and Brazilian officials had to move "thousands of animals... [to] new nature reserves" (Bateman and Denshire 23) and "approximatey 4 million people were resettled during the construction" ( Cleveland ). This project helped many people gain money, as "during the peak of contruction, the project employed 40,000 workers" (Augustin 76). The entire projected had "an estimated cost of $18 million" (Augustin 76). The dam istelf is "643 feet tall [and] 4.8 miles from bank to bank" (Bateman and Denshire 22). The Itaipu Dam took up a lot of resources, including enough "steel...[to] build 380 Eiffel Towers" (Augustin 76). It also "used fifteen times more cancrete than was used to build the tunnel under the English Channel" (Augustin 76). There is an entire lake behind the Dam, which was created in order to supply the dam with water. This reservoir is "170 km long with an area of 1.35 km2 and has a volume at maximum normal level of 29 x 109m3 "( Cleveland ). Because of it's construction, "the Guarani falls were completely submerged" (Augustin 23), thus destroying one of nature's natural wonders.

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