'They are trying to tame nature': China is building the world's biggest dam in an earthquake-prone region of Tibet

However, hydropower is not as sustainable as it's often portrayed, and it has environmental impacts. Large dams can cause severe environmental damage to river ecosystems. The creation of reservoirs can also release greenhouse gases as trees and plants are covered with water and subsequently rot, though this is less of an issue in cold places like the Tibetan Plateau, Darrin Magee, a hydropower expert at Western Washington University, told Live Science.