Today, power is what everyone in this country depends on every day and could not function without it. Every year, more and more dams are built and more and more artificial reservoirs are created to provide this necessary electricity. These dams are very important to me, but Edward Abbey expresses a different opinion in his writing "The Damnation of a Canyon". The heart of Edward Abbey lies in beautiful Glen Canyon. He describes all the wonderful stories from his childhood of him floating down the river and how all he needed was a paddle boat and a little money. It tells of the great beauty of all the animals, insects, forests and ancient landscapes of the canyon. That's why Abbey believes reservoirs are doing terrible things not just to Glen Canyon but to all rivers. When you think about it, a natural river, untouched by machines and humans, is virtually non-existent today. Any river large enough to have a dam and produce a substantial amount of electricity probably already has a large number of them. Abbey feels they are ruining the environment and wildlife is being sacrificed. The rising waters of the reservoir drown all the life that once lived. All the beautiful scenery and historic sites are replaced by water-scarred rocks, muddy banks, and very small amounts of forest and greenery. He thinks the whole river is completely disrupted, with every reservoir and dam. He highlights the fact that exploring the river now requires a guide boat or enough money to buy your own. Overall, Abbey gives good reasons for her opinion. However, I have a different opinion on the matter. Although Edward Abbey uses strong personal experiences to persuade the reader that the man-made reservoirs are destroying the beautiful canyon and the environment, I think he overlooks other possible opinions and the benefits of having them. Beyond all the personal and emotional feelings of Abbey memories, let's not forget what these dams and reservoirs provide us with electricity. Electricity is extremely important for everyone. This is apparently the reason for everything people consider vital to their lives; cars, computers, television, running tap water, everything. It's not something we can just forget because of a perpetrator's emotional attachment to a certain strip of land sacrificed to make thousands of other people happy, sitting safely in their homes with electricity..