Clash With the Titan

Anti-dam activists target billionaire Warren Buffett

This weekend, activists are descending on Omaha, Neb., to push for removal of four Western dams they say are killing salmon and causing a health risk to humans. Their target: skillionaire Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway holding company owns PacifiCorp, the utility that owns the Klamath River dams. In addition to picketing Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting, anti-dam advocates, including local tribal leaders and anglers, filed a federal lawsuit against PacifiCorp this week, alleging that the dams are a nuisance and a threat to public health. Led by Robert Kennedy Jr.'s law firm, Kennedy and Madonna, the suit addresses "a fundamentally undemocratic situation," says partner Kevin Madonna (a contender for Best Name Ever). The California Energy Commission says removing the dams and buying power elsewhere could save money for PacifiCorp, which provides power to 1.6 million customers in six Western states. Buffett, contacted for comment, said, "Really? People still catch their own fish?"