Environmentalists and Dam Operators, at War for Years, Start Making Peace Facing a climate crisis, environmental groups and industry agree to work together to bolster hydropower while reducing harm from dams.
WASHINGTON — The industry that operates America’s hydroelectric dams and several environmental groups announced an unusual agreement Tuesday to work together to get more clean energy from hydropower while reducing the environmental harm from dams, in a sign that the threat of climate change is spurring both sides to rethink their decades-long battle over a large but contentious source of renewable power.
The United States generated about 7 percent of its electricity last year from hydropower, mainly from large dams built decades ago, such as the Hoover Dam, which uses flowing water from the Colorado River to power turbines. But while these facilities don’t emit planet-warming carbon dioxide, the dams themselves have often proved ecologically devastating, choking off America’s once-wild rivers and killing fish populations.
So, over the past 50 years, conservation groups have rallied to block any large new dams from being built, while proposals to upgrade older hydropower facilities or construct new water-powered energy-storage projects have often been bogged down in lengthy regulatory disputes over environmental safeguards.
The new agreement signals a desire to de-escalate this long-running war.
In a joint statement, industry groups and environmentalists said they would collaborate on a set of specific policy measures that could help generate more renewable electricity from dams already in place, while retrofitting many of the nation’s 90,000 existing dams to be safer and less ecologically damaging.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/climate/environmentalists-hydropower-dams.html?unlocked_article_code=TOvsXOHFSfRGOkO6JhZnj3Yks0yWt2bvn1kO4l18yrQaePyRW8mThoZD8XLxb2rXe6x-QrZHSV-Dtv6H7PNJgmgf1_No-wLy_sepOn6cQ2ilU9o7LmP-61R-g4-s2jufG9gy8kzErX6LPPvU2-NLOfLc2rb_nNCEaSjC5KAxMVdYCPU12dIJURwojK1LCAj_UzoLdA1Wn8sdw187MbNLzXpIMCq58RR8DF1Jh3ucg0fytWJ3DEXViYNHQVlT-4_R1lUjZXdOj9LRm-nbFch8Za2gaA9cxYIV4wx9nsbjAiU5ORNqTY6lsEnmSjEju6Sa3mMUArart5E0SnS_xyCMyXhDgCmQhA8T0idV&smid=em- you may or may not be able to open this article. Katherine Dwyer commented a month ago this is very good news. thank you for sharing Kathy! Tim Miller commented a month ago For those that say the dam and carp removal is hurting Lake Allegan fishing, I say they're wrong. Here's a link to just some of the fish I caught this past year. Smallmouth bass sizes have increased an inch or two each year since the carp removal started. https://photos.app.goo.gl/tCf6PyoA6eMrHhnM7 Hope the link works. Mike Roth commented a month ago mike this is great. I. don't think that people are saying carp removal is hurting fishing but rather creating more weeds Tim Miller commented a month ago Agree Tim, the article was saying dams hurt fishing and yes i agree there's definitely more weeds in the shallow sections up river. Thanks for all you do! Mike Roth commented a month ago ThanksMike Tim Miller commented a month ago I too have noticed an increase in weeds.It's the first summer I have ever had to reverse my engine to eliminate them from my prop. But it's a small price to pay when I see the HUGE grins on my grandkids faces when they fight and bring in a whale of a Bass or a tasty mammoth Bluegill! Good riddance Carp! Keep the Dam forever!!!!! Robert Lawson commented a month ago