Thanks to human ingenuity and persistence, hydropower energy represents one of the oldest power sources on this planet. Best, its is clean, renewable, and sustainable as long as there is available water. That may be a larger challenge, according to some viewpoints. A very quick glimpse into hydropower history Humans have been harnessing water to
Damming Chinese rivers has been in the public consciousness for many years now, if for no other reason than for the impact the construction of the Three Gorges Dam had on the surrounding region: the 400 mile long reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam has flooded 13 cities, 140 towns, 1352 villages, and 100,000 acres of China’s
New research has shown that large dams have the ability to affect the local climate, to the point of drastically altering the local rainfall in some regions. This marks the first time that researchers have found a clear difference had on the surrounding environment by large reservoirs compared to natural lakes and wetlands. The study
[UPDATED: Sept. 27, 2013; see addendum at bottom] In the spirit of both Halloween and Environmental Awareness, I hereby offer thirteen environmental horror stories of anthropogenic origin. I have chosen to narrow my sample field to the post World War II time period. I have also excluded nuclear weapons tests and chemical weapons usage (such
The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $32 million dollars of Recovery Act funding will be used to expand the harvest of hydroelectric power. “There’s no one solution to the energy crisis, but hydro-power is clearly part of the solution and represents a major opportunity to create more clean energy jobs,” said Secretary Chu.
Where does your bottled water originate? Is the company bottling public water and selling it for profit? [social_buttons] Most water companies try their hardest to hide this information, but if a new bill that just was approved by committee today in the California state assembly takes hold, the companies would be forced to sing a
Apparently Turkish police have a biting sense of irony: they’ve sprayed protesters at the World Water Forum with high-pressured water cannons. [social_buttons] The forum, which occurs every three years, is supposed to focus on ways to eliminate water poverty across the globe, but protesters believe the forum takes a heavy-handed approach and supports construction of
Two peaceful protestors with the environmental nonprofit International Rivers were deported from Turkey today after revealing a banner reading “No Risky Dams” just before the conference was set to begin. [social_buttons] The forum, held every three years, discusses global challenges and solutions to the water crisis. International Rivers advocates alternatives to large dams, which flood
A well-respected Indian scientist nearly died after a 38-day hunger strike in protest of construction on a hydropower dam on a tributary of the Ganges river. [social_buttons] AD Agarwal, a 77-year-old former professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi at Kanpur, began his strike last month when the Indian government refused to study the
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/3lBsxsR3Ha0&hl=en&fs=1] To update a previous post on the topic, above is a video of activists confronting government scientists and press representatives about the plan to kill up to 85 sea lions because they’re eating salmon. Activists organized a protest today at the Bonville dam and are encouraging all Oregon and Washinton residents to contact their
Conservationists in Australia are claiming that the postponement of the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam is actually a sign that the dam will never be constructed. The dam, set to be built on the Mary River in Queensland, Australia, faces fierce criticism from local activists, residents, and councils. A major hurdle for the dam’s construction has
What to do when you have spent five years trying to stop a massive federal road project to no avail? Take a walk and say good bye to the gentle one lane curves, old growth forest, and northern spotted owl (NSO) habitat. That’s what members of my community did in semblance of a Maori custom
