Comment on Elements of Renewable Energy
girsaysdoom@sh.itjust.works 2 months agoThere are forms of hydroelectric generation that aren’t damaging to the environment. We just need to actually be aware of the consequences and perform an environmental risk assessment. I think this is a requirement for new installations in the US, but I could be wrong.
Cagi@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Minor mitigations at best. Those environmental impact studies aren’t about finding a way to cause no interruption to nature, they are about acceptable losses determined by pro-dam lobbyists if any regulations exist at all. But these are the exact kind of laws both Democrats and Republicans have been gutting for decades in favour of small government.
Turning a river into a lake is not good for river dependant life. Blocking half of it behind a wall is terrible. Fish ladders are not a replacement for open river, it will only save an “acceptable” fraction of some species like salmon, not allow full passage of all life in the ecosystem.