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dam-l Hydro shares warming blame, Free Press June 15/00

To:       Aboriginal Coalition
From:  Will Braun
Date:  6/15/2000  11:53:01 AM
Subj:   Hydro shares warming blame, Free Press June 15/00


Winnipeg Free Press
15 June 2000
Letters to the Editor


Hydro shares warming blame

Val Werier (Hydro contributes to health of globe, Free Press, June 1)
claims that hydroelectric power does not contribute to global warming.

This assertion is false, as evidenced by the report from a recent Montreal
workshop sponsored by Hydro-Quebec, hardly an anti-dam organization
(www.dams.org/thematic/).

The report states: "Greenhouse gasses are emitted for decades from all dam
reservoirs in the boreal and tropic regions for which measurements have
been  made. This is in contrast to the widespread assumption that such
emissions are zero." The scientists also state, "There is no justification
for claiming that  hydroelectricity does not contribute significantly to
global warming."

The potential contribution of reservoirs to climate change is merely one of
many environmental and social impacts  associated with large dams.
Reservoirs have flooded perhaps a million square kilometres (one per cent
of our planet's land surface) and displaced up to 60 million people.

Estuaries have been degraded, fisheries decimated, and forests destroyed.
We are now being forced to manage our dams differently, allocating more
flow to the environment in an effort to stop further dam-related
destruction of ecosystems and  taking other costly steps to save valuable
fisheries.

Manitoba is to be applauded for its efforts to cut consumption of
electricity. By reducing the demand for electricity in Manitoba by 135
megawatts since 1990, the province is truly making a contribution to the
health of the globe.  However, it is  inappropriate that Manitoba, while
behaving responsibly at home by cutting energy consumption, wants to fuel
the massive over-consumption in the U.S.

The U.S. should instead follow Manitoba's lead and adopt energy
conservation programs rather than importing electricity from polluting,
destructive and unsustainable hydropower projects.

ELIZABETH BRINK

River Revival Co-ordinator
International Rivers Network
Berkeley, California




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