Hydropower

The Selenga River is the main body of water in Mongolia, as well as the major source of livelihood for the population by providing water for regional “agricultural irrigation” (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica; “Selenga (Selenge) River Delta”). However, the Selenga River is also a “substantial source of water for Lake Baikal,” a body of water in Russia that sustains an ecosystem with multiple endemic species, represents twenty percent of the world’s freshwater, and serves as a hub for…

produced by hydropower, which means it uses the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. However, there is debate regarding the reliability of hydroelectric energy as a renewable energy source since some organizations believe hydroelectric energy is actually doing more harm than good. These organizations say that hydroelectric energy is increasing global warming faster than fossil fuels and therefore should not be used as a main source. On the other hand, the National Hydropower…

Alternative Energy: The Power of Nature From the moment the average person wakes up in the morning, to the time they go to bed they have used some type of energy all day. People around the world drive their cars to work and while there, use more energy by simply turning on the lights to see or using the heat to stay warm. However, what they do not think about is how much energy it took to produce the light they just switched on, as well as the effects of producing that energy. Whether it be…

Should Dams be Removed? Dams in the United States play very important roles in controlling the waterways and for transportation purposes, but is the destruction of the rivers and surrounding land worth it? Many of these dams do more harm than good to the rivers, and hundreds of dams in the United States are no longer even in use. Not only are they damaging the rivers, but these unused dams are also no longer providing any benefits for rivers or for human use. These unused dams should be…

While this is a monumental environmental impact, the use of hydropower to bring electricity goes down, affecting society economically. During the 2014-2015 winter, California faced a hydropower efficiency of less then 10%, while in 2006 there was a power supply of around 40% (Beaudry, 5). California uses hydropower by turning turbines held in large reservoirs, and while snowfall and precipitation would usually fill it back up, drought…

for irrigation ( Natural Resources Canada: About Renewable Energy, 2014). Hydropower is not only easy to control, but also creates no air pollution. Most of all, hydropower does not require a large budget to achieve the goal. However, this method can be easily affected by climate change and disasters like earthquakes. Due to the reason that it is such a big project, the government has to think carefully whether the hydropower projects can be allowed to inundate valleys and how heavy will it…

All tastiness aside, the discrepancy in funding for protecting different species in the case of Chinook salmon and steelhead makes perfect sense. Salmon is the lifeblood of the pacific northwest. It feeds the forests, wildlife, communities, and the economy. It is no surprise that nearly 80% of funding was devoted to these two species. Populations of Chinook salmon and steelhead have declined rapidly since the 1980s and it appears despite our best efforts they are continuing to decline. Chinook…

are run on fossil fuels. The most used renewable energy source the United States has right now is hydropower, which accounts for ten percent of the nation's power (Hydropower Technology). The most common type of hydroelectric power plant uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir... Some hydroelectric power plants just use a small canal to channel the river water through a turbine (Hydropower Technology). In other words, any river or stream that has the right qualifications for a…

Coal is a nonrenewable resource. Energy is made when the coal is burned, a machine called pulverized grinds the coal into a fine powder, then powder mixes in a boiler creating steam. Steam released from the boiler powers an engine called a turbine transforming heat into energy from burning coal in to mechanical energy that spins the turbine engine then used to power a generator. Coal is used for many different things mainly heating, cooling, cooking, transportation, farming.…

Canada’s landscape was a prime example of a perfect site for the industry of hydropower to reach its fullest potential. A landscape perfect for the globalization of hydropower energy production, “there were several important material conditions: a flowing river, a firm foundation (preferably granite bedrock), and physical space that included a topographical differential (a falls)…