• @paysrenttobirds
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    43 days ago

    Not saying you’re wrong, but just to add, [this article] (https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/18/demolition-plan-of-four-klamath-river-dams-moves-forward/) gives a good account of the issues with several dams along one river. The electric company saves money by demolishing compared to building required fish ladders. They were already expecting less and less power from the dams due to low water levels, which may be drought or competition with irrigation. The dams only accounted for 2% of the electricity they sold, so I’m not sure how big the replacement project will be, if any.

    One thing to note is that activism like this does normally happen in “spurts”. The legislative cycle is very long and most projects that eventually achieve government backing also require a lot, even matching, private money. Backers may go through several rounds of hype before catching the attention of a big local family or other donor that makes the whole thing plausible enough for the government to act on.