The Wrong Attitude?
While we in Oregon have been working on achieving the removal of our hydroelectric dams, officials in Michigan has begun to process of reviving their dams.
In Oregon we’re saying:
[Because of the dam removal] the utility [companies have] agree[d] to pay $500,000 a year for fish habitat improvements until the dams are removed….Dam removal costs [are] to be borne by ratepayers [with] surcharges…to PacifiCorp’s 500,000 customers in Oregon. That’s about $1.65 a month that many hard-pressed people might not like seeing on their electric bills….If Wednesday’s ambitious Klamath Basin agreement holds up…the result will be historic. It would pave the way for the biggest dam removal project in the nation.
In Michigan their saying:
Charles Peterson of Peterson Machinery Sales said he will pay for all needed upgrades to three Boardman River dams if he is allowed to operate the structures for hydroelectric power generation….City Administrator Terry Eull says interest in renewable energy is growing because of a new Michigan law requiring utilities to get 10 percent of their power from green sources by 2015. “We’ve had this plan in mind for some time….”
I’m not going to argue for or against the removal of the Klamath dam. But what I will argue is that mindset is extraordinarily important. In Michigan, they seem to be working towards affordable, renewable, and clean energy. In Oregon, for better or for worse, we’re destroying our current sources of renewable energy and forcing restrictive mandates on our companies. Our mindset does not seem to be progressive. It does not seem like we are working towards renewable, clean, and affordable energy. It seems we’re going the wrong direction.
