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Category Archives: Dams
Himalayan glaciers supplying water to a billion people melting fast, Andes too
Preface. The Himalayan glaciers that supply water to a billion people are melting fast, already 30% has been lost since 1975. Adding to the crisis are the 400 dams under construction or planned for Himalayan rivers in India, Pakistan, Nepal, … Continue reading
Posted in Caused by Scarce Resources, Climate Change, Dams, Peak Water, Planetary Boundaries, Water, Water Infrastructure
Tagged Andes, climate change, dams, glaciers melting, Himalaya
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Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS)
Preface. This is the only commercial way to store energy now (CAES hardly counts with just one plant and salt domes to put more in existing in only 5 states). Though of course hydropower is only in a few states … Continue reading
Posted in Dams, Energy Production, Hydropower, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS)
Tagged dams, energy storage, hydroelectric, NIMBY, PHS, Pumped hydro storage
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Hydropower dams and the ways they destroy the environment
Preface. Hydropower comprises 71% of renewable energy worldwide. Nations like the U.S. and Europe have dams that have reached the end of their lifespan — more are being torn down than built. In the U.S. 546 dams were removed between … Continue reading
Posted in CO2 and Methane, Dams, Hydropower
Tagged biodiversity, china, environment, hydropower, Three Gorges dam
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Book review: the politics of California’s central valley levees
Preface. This is a book review of Robert Kelly’s “Battling the Inland Sea”. But it is much more than that, better than any book I know if explaining the human nature of “conservatism vs liberalism”. It drives me nuts that … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture Infrastructure, Dams, Earthquakes, Floods, Politics, Sea Level Rise
Tagged california, earthquake, flood, levee, sea level rise
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Water resources infrastructure deteriorating
[ Water infrastructure has inter-dependencies with other essential infrastructure, if dams or levees fail, agriculture and electric power suffer, towns and homes flooded. If ports along the ocean and inland water ways aren’t maintained and waterways dredged, the by far … Continue reading
Posted in Dams, Interdependencies, Water Infrastructure
Tagged dams, hydropower, infrastructure, levees
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Climate change may corrode concrete even faster
[ I’ve paraphrased and shortened this article about how climate change will corrode concrete faster in the future from increasing carbon dioxide levels, and in coastal cities, from the chloride ions in sea spray. After that is the introduction section … Continue reading
Dams: last 100-200 years, make floods worse, an environmental disaster, most will soon be past their lifespan
Failing Dams in the news: 2017-2-23: America’s Aging Dams Are in Need of Repair. New York Times. 2017-2-20. California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted. A dismissed lawsuit to strengthen the dam because of climate change effects predicted catastrophic flooding. … Continue reading
Posted in Dams
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Homeland Security and Dept of Energy: Dams and Energy Sectors Interdependency Study
[Below are excerpts from this 45 page document. Dams not only provide power but also water for agriculture, drinking water, cooling water for thermal power plants, ecosystem health, fisheries, and so on. All dams have a finite lifespan of 50 … Continue reading
Posted in Dams, Energy Production, Interdependencies
Tagged dams, hydropower, infrastructure, interdependency
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