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Commentaries and editorials

Clean Energy: Harvest Nature's Bounty

by John D. Bailes
The Oregonian, June 1, 2007

While America decommissions its hydroelectric dams, the rest of the world builds them. Hydroelectric power generation is by far the cheapest available. It's also non-polluting.

While America decommissions its nuclear plants, the rest of the world builds them with American help and technology.

The Alaskan oil field is running out, but Congress has forbidden drilling in the adjacent few acres of the wilderness for new oil. Oil is America's life blood, and we continue to rely on unreliable foreign sources -- some of which hate America.

Bonneville Dam's non-polluting multi-megawatts currently powering the Northwest could be vastly increased by adding additional generators, but instead some environmentalists talk of removing the dam itself.

If wild fish are more important than America's power, then the sea lions that clog our rivers, destroying tens of thousands of fish, should be harvested.

The demolition of the Marmot Dam for the fish's pleasure, at the expense of electricity for 12,000 homes, seems a poor trade ("Dams' demolition will give NW's wild salmon a break," May 23).

The loss of the beautiful recreational lake behind the dam and the value of the adjacent recreational property was ignored.

Related Pages:
Dam the Salmon, Wall Street Journal, by Shikha Dalmia, May 30, 2007


John D. Bailes, Gold Beach
Clean Energy: Harvest Nature's Bounty.
The Oregonian, June 1, 2007

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