http://edition.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/21/transcript.mon/index.html#second China's Big DAM CHA: China is a nation of superlatives-- It's the world's most populated country. You can see its Great Wall from space. And now, it's home to the planet's biggest DAM, built across the Yangtze River. But what some say is an engineering masterpiece, others call an environmental nightmare. Stan GRANT explains the controversy, in the heart of China. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STAN GRANT, CNN REPORTER: Mao Zedong dreamed of a 'great wall of stone' taming the mighty Yangtze River. Now it is complete. To stand at the THREE GORGES DAM is to see a display of force unequalled at any hydropower plant on earth. Massive generators will pump out energy equivalent to 15 nuclear power plants. Its transmission range: 1,000 kilometers...doing away with dirty coal fuel and potentially providing millions with reliable electricity. Seventeen years in construction, a cost of 25 billion U.S. dollars, at its peak 30,000 workers and at the center of it all - one man. CAO GUANGJING, VP THREE GORGES DAM PROJECT: It's a race against time - haha yes. GRANT: Only 38 years old, CAO GUANGJING has been the man in charge pulling all this together. He has delivered. Construction of the DAM has been brought in 9 months ahead of schedule. The entire project will be fully operational by 2009. An impressive feat, but not one without criticism. Activist Dai Qing has long campaigned against the DAM citing dammage to the environment. DAI QING, ACTIVIST: It's too huge. What critics try to suggest is stop it - don't have it...keep the river but no, this is a political project. GRANT: Critics say the damming of the Yangtze will increase pollution and the spread of disease. LEI HENSHUN is a retired professor and respected environmental expert. He is concerned about the varying water levels of the river. During the dry winter months it will be kept at 175 meters to maximize hydropower. In summer it will be lowered to 145 meters to allow for the flood season. LEI HENSHUN, ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT: Some special problems will show up because a large area will be exposed in summer and then the garbage, plants, dirty mud will easily become disease breeding grounds. GRANT: Look at the state of the river. It is a muddy brown color, medical waste visible, floating debris even the bodies of dead animals. But, Chinese officials say don't believe your eyes. CAO GUANGHUI, ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION BUREAU: Monitoring results obtained by the environmental department show that with the rise of the water level the quality of water has in fact improved instead of deteriorated. GRANT: Then there are the people - forcibly removed from their homes as villages and towns have been submerged. More than a million people have been displaced. Many complain they don't want to move...and in any case, can not afford it. MAN ON THE STREET: How can they force us out? We have no place to live and many of us are old people and children. GRANT: Yet in China the past must make way for progress. The DAM will provide much needed power and help with flood prevention. The project stands as a symbol of China's precarious balance between nature and the future. Stan GRANT, CNN, THREE GORGES DAM, China. --

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