Dams
As the Harms of Hydropower Dams Become Clearer, Some Activists Ask, ‘Is It Time to Remove Them?’
For most of Joey Owle’s life, the Ela Dam was merely part of the landscape—just another feature of the Oconaluftee River as it runs through Whittier, North Carolina. Owle grew up about five miles from the dam in the Qualla Boundary, the tribal territory of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians about 60 miles west […]
Read MoreThe ‘Power of Aridity’ is Bringing a Colorado River Dam to its Knees
Deep in the bowels of the Glen Canyon Dam, an awful lot stays the same. Under the mass of concrete it’s pleasantly cool all year long, even when the Arizona sun beats down above. As the decades march on, the machinery inside remains unchanged, too. The dam’s innards are a time capsule of 1960s engineering. […]
Read More‘They paid for it with misery’: Q&A with Chile dam critic Jose Marihuan Ancanao
SANTA BÁRBARA, Chile — The Bío Bío River is the second-longest in Chile, forming in the Andes near the Argentine border and running 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest before emptying into the Pacific. The river passes through rural, sometimes uninhabited, mountains and foothills, making it seem ideal for hydroelectric development. But other areas are home […]
Cambodian mega dam’s resurrection on the Mekong ‘the beginning of the end’
STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — A long-dormant plan to build a mega dam on the mainstream of the Mekong River in Cambodia’s northeastern Stung Treng province appears to have been revived this year, leaving locals immediately downstream of the potential sites worried and experts confounded. First studied in 2007, the 1,400-megawatt hydropower project, known as the […]
Climate change hits northern Mexico, as officials look to solve water crisis
In northern Mexico, it’s become common to see tankers delivering thousands of gallons of water to local middle and high schools. People wait in long lines outside of convenience stores to purchase water jugs. And in some cases, armed men intercept delivery trucks and take water back to their own neighborhoods for distribution. Water has […]
‘Cursed’ dam project in orangutan habitat claims 16th life in less than 2 years
JAKARTA — Indonesian police are investigating possible negligence in the death of a Chinese construction worker at the site of a controversial hydroelectric dam in the only known habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. The victim, identified as 52-year-old Wang Jian, died on the morning of Aug. 21 when the tunnel he was working […]
Chinese investment in Latin America plagues people and nature: Report
China has spent the last two decades quietly establishing an economic foothold in Latin America, a region that has traditionally relied on Western investment. It’s become the top trade partner for countries like Brazil and Peru, and its banks have given out more than $137 billion in loans since 2005, mostly for infrastructure, energy and […]