Today, having power is what everyone in this country relies on day to day and couldn't function without it. Every year more and more dams are built and more and more reservoirs are created to provide the necessary electricity. These dams are very important in my eyes, but Edward Abbey has a different opinion in his writing "The Damnation of a Canyon". The heart of Edward Abbey lies in beautiful Glen Canyon. He describes all his wonderful childhood stories 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, forestry and ancient landscapes that the canyon once had. This is why Abbey believes reservoirs are doing terrible things not just to Glen Canyon but to every river. If you think about it, a natural river uncontaminated by machines and humans is practically non-existent today. Any river large enough to have a dam and produce a significant amount of electricity probably already has many that do. Abbey believes they are ruining the environment and wildlife is being sacrificed. The rising waters of the basin drown all the life that once lived. All the beautiful landscapes and historic sites are replaced by water-scarred rocks, muddy banks and very small amounts of forestry and vegetation. He believes that the entire river is completely destroyed with every reservoir and dam. He points to the fact that exploring the river now requires a boat with a tour guide or enough money to buy one of your own. Overall, Abbey provides some good reasons to support his opinion. However, I have a different belief on the matter. Although Edward Abbey uses strong personal experiences to persuade the reader that the reservoirs are destroying the beautiful canyon and 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 are providing us: energy. Electricity is extremely important for everyone. It is the reason for everything that people consider vital to their lives; cars, computers, TVs, running water from the tap, everything. It's not something we can forget because of an author's emotional attachment to a certain piece of land sacrificed to make thousands of other people happy sitting safely in their home with electricity.