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  Not-so-power-full dams

  While it's true that the dams discussed in the article (the four lower Snake River dams) provide some hydropower, they're nothing like the huge hydro dams you'd see on the mainstem or upper Columbia River (the ones that Woody Guthrie wrote songs about).  The lower Snake River dams are primarily navigation dams, and as such generate only about 4% of the region's hydropower.  And though 4% is nothing to sneeze at, it's worth noting that most of that power is generated during the late spring and early summer when snowmelt fills the Snake's tributaries -- and when the Pacific Northwest least needs the power.  Consequently, much of the electricity produced by the lower Snake River dams is sold off to California and Nevada.  But perhaps more importantly, the groups and individuals who support lower Snake dam removal also support ensuring that any resulting loss of power is fully mitigated for -- through conservation and renewable energy sources.  On David James Duncan rows through a wheat field to save salmon -- and we've got pictures posted 2 years, 9 months ago 16 Responses