Tag: <span>hydropower</span>

The Murky Ethics and Complicated Environmental Claims of Big Hydro

As ongoing global reliance on fossil fuels continues to accelerate climate change, urgency and interest in transitioning to renewable energy sources is  increasing. A 2019 survey from the Pew Research Center found that most Americans believe the United States should prioritize expanding renewable energy sources over the continued use of …

The Politics of Survival: Orcas, Salmon, and Dams in the Pacific Northwest

In the summer of 2018, a Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) known as J-35 lost her newborn calf shortly after birth. She captured headlines around the world when she proceeded to carry it with her over an unprecedented 17-day, 1000-mile “tour of grief.” J-35’s calf was just one of three …

When Renewable Energy isn’t ‘Green’: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydroelectric Reservoirs

By Kale Roberts, M.S. in Climate Science and Policy 2016 Hydropower is often considered a clean energy source, free of climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions. But although dams have been demonized for disrupting fish migrations and flooding valleys inhabited by families for generations, this so-called renewable form of energy has largely …