tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563205518828267408.post6451071114446648883..comments2024-01-19T08:08:23.595-08:00Comments on All of My Faults Are Stress-Related: Sunday stroll: River of Lost SoulsKimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07738706550175991130noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563205518828267408.post-90352490360842941652008-04-14T19:17:00.000-07:002008-04-14T19:17:00.000-07:00Not only will decrease downstream flows, but it wi...<I>Not only will decrease downstream flows, but it will actually use energy.</I><BR/><BR/>Yep.<BR/><BR/>The project was proposed in the "dam every river" days of the 1960's, but it's being completed because of claims on the water by the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes. (Tribes legally have senior water rights, though they generally have been given reservation land that's marginal for agriculture... and removed from the river drainages.)<BR/><BR/>The project doesn't make any sense geologically. But on the other hand, water is pumped uphill and across drainage divides to satisfy the needs of places like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Denver. The Utes were here first. This is a kind of compensation for stealing the mountains from them.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738706550175991130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563205518828267408.post-66829721895919920452008-04-14T18:49:00.000-07:002008-04-14T18:49:00.000-07:00Not only will decrease downstream flows, but it wi...Not only will decrease downstream flows, but it will actually use energy. Sounds like a great project...Chris Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212533305670974909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563205518828267408.post-48578877291574586082008-04-14T08:29:00.000-07:002008-04-14T08:29:00.000-07:00In doing my field work in Switzerland, I quickly d...In doing my field work in Switzerland, I quickly discovered that every time you turned around in the mountains, there was another dam. The Swiss really are big on self-supporting energy and so besides the nuclear power plants, they have a ton of hydro power. And they have spent a good amount of time and effort to make a sequence of dams in a drainage area to get the most out of the elevation drop in the mountains. Yes, there are the fish issues--but Switzerland is far ahead in the reducing carbon emissions game than we are.<BR/><BR/>Similar observation: I've noticed quite a few arguments against wind farms over the past few years. And yet, when you drive across northern Germany, there's a turbine or two in every farmer's field. When I asked, the farmer's get a) paid for the turbine's use of their field and b) get a nice tax deduction for allowing it on their land. My friend commented that it was supporting a number of farmer's through a few poor years...<BR/><BR/>Time to get off my high horse.Ellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18333469410211681553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563205518828267408.post-56799869301645450172008-04-13T21:05:00.000-07:002008-04-13T21:05:00.000-07:00It sounds like an unusual project, especially in t...It sounds like an unusual project, especially in these days of dam removal.Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.com