Feb 12
Hydropower is one of the cleaner energy options, but that doesn’t make it perfect. Wade into this: Rushing, cascading water doesn’t just power epic rafting trips—fast-flowing water also creates hydropower. It goes something like this: A dam is built in a river, holding back the water to form a reservoir. When released, the force of …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.currentcast.org/water-and-energy/hydroelectric-power/
Dec 17
Dams can benefit society—and harm river ecosystems. Listen up for why it’s important to balance the good with the bad: Dams can create a reservoir to hold water, protect areas from floods, or generate clean electricity. All good, right? But wait, there’s more: A dam also physically blocks migrating fish and changes the overall biology …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.currentcast.org/water-and-energy/dams-the-good-and-the-bad/
Jul 09
Deteriorating dam infrastructure is a “dam” shame. Listen up: Let’s face it: no dam lives forever. Many of the nation’s estimated 75,000 dams have been providing important services like hydropower or irrigation since the early 1900s—and their time for removal or serious repair has come. How do such sturdy structures crumble in the first place? …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.currentcast.org/water-and-energy/environmental-impact-of-old-dams/
Dec 20
Elevators and water slides for fish may sound straight out of Dr. Seuss—but they actually exist in Michigan. Listen up: Sturgeon go back to their home river to spawn. And for half the sturgeon in Lake Michigan, that means the Menominee River. But hydroelectric dams block the river, forcing the fish to lay their eggs …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.currentcast.org/water-and-energy/fish-slides-anyone/
