Hydropower’s Unintended Consequences Essay -- Renewable Energy Environ

Hydropower’s Unintended Consequences As more emphasis is being brought to renewable energy, hydroelectric power is often seen as a viable and clean alternative energy source. Hydro electric has been a longstanding source of power for this and many other countries. In the 1940s dams were supplying 40% of our nation’s electricity, and now they only generate about 10% (science bulletins). Hydro power can be a clean alternative to fossil fuels; however it should not be considered an environmentally friendly alternative of energy production. Dams built for hydroelectric production have had staggering effects on the ecosystems of which they invade, both aquatic and terrestrial, and have rippling effects linked to ecosystems far outside the site of the dam itself. Dams can have adverse effects on water quality, fish species, migration of aquatic animals, and can create biological isolation by cutting off access of species from one side of the dam to the other. Dam building took off in the United States after World War Two. This can be seen in the official slogan of the Bureau of Land Reclamation: â€Å"Our Rivers: Total Use for Greater Wealth† (science bulletins). Since then, the ambitious dam building is fully noticeable. â€Å"At least 68,000 large dams, and up to 2 million small dams, block virtually every American waterway† (science bulletins). The most highly hydroelectrically developed river in the country being the Colorado River (Lang). A river that drains over 259,000 square miles and flows through seven states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah) as well as one Canadian province, is dammed by over 400 dams (Lang). These dams create endless barrages for aquatic water life in what... ...worth the environmental toll it takes, and if it is worth the decimation of any particular species. Bibliography Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). Edwards Dam and Kennebec Restoration. Accessed March 29 from: http://www.nrcm.org/issue_edwardsdam.asp Lang, Bill. Columbia River. Accessed march 28 from: http://www.ccrh.org/river/history.htm Banks, John. Penobscot River project gets two boosts. Portland Press Herald, Thursday, February 1, 2007. Accessed march 28 from: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/viewpoints/editorials/070201penob.html Science Bulletins. Kennebec Dam Removal. Accessed march 28 from: http://sciencebulletins.amnh.org/biobulletin/biobulletin/story1206.html Penobscot River Restoration Trust. Penobscot River Watershed History. Accessed April 1 from: http://www.penobscotriver.org/content/4004/The_River/