I think we are going backwards in this country. Republicans and Democrats alike consume electricity. I suggest that we need to supply our nation with domestically produced and sustainable power. This is true if you believe humans are causing global warming by burning fossil fuels. This is true if you think our dependence on foreign energy supplies is a threat to our national security. In either case, I would think that long existing hydroelectric dams should be part of the solution. But alas, it seems they are the problem.
The proposal calls for the scrapping of four aging hydroelectric dams that have stood on the river for nearly a century — providing electricity for 70,000 customers but also blocking salmon from reaching their spawning grounds.
The article explains the crisis….
The Klamath, straddling the Oregon-California line, was once the third most productive salmon river system on the West Coast, but it has declined because of misguided hatchery practices, overfishing, development and the loss of habitat to dams, mining, and logging.
Fish returns have become so small that in 2006 commercial salmon fishing had to be nearly shut down off most of Oregon and California, causing a federal disaster declaration.
I like Salmon just as much as the next guy, but here we have a “crisis” that really comes down to a scarcity of resources problem. Farmers, Indians, Fisherman, and the Utility company all are battling it out to determine who can put the water resources to the best use. Add to that the environmental groups, that fight against human utilization of our resources, and you get big government involvement in a situation that will cost tax payers billions, and yet in the end, yield very little practical benefit.
A sane environmental policy understands that human existence depends on responsible utilization of our natural resources. I think we need to make sure that the Farmers and the fisherman can both provide for the table of the nation. At the same time, we need to be honest and understand that we do demand energy production and if it can be done with clean power sources, that is a benefit to all.
I am not sure what the proper solution should be, but I am very clear that in many cases environmental groups advocate obstructionist policies that are hypocritical when you consider that all of us are consuming and utilizing the resources.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22672595/
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