Hydro-electricity is…

Hydro-electricity is commonly described as "green". Although it may be renewable, electricity generated from dams does have significant environmental impacts. Dams have had important effects on biodiversity by blocking movements of aquatic organisms, by wiping out cool water habitats downstream and rarely by actual mortality.

Dams and associated generation facilities were convenient in that they were located far from urban centres, causing no inconvenience to the majority of electricity users. But those urban electricity demands were forced onto rural dwellers far from the source of the demands without public discussion. The political and moral issues of this dislocation were still with us in Oakville recently. Demands of urban dwellers should not be allowed to impact distant citizens or natural processes without full public discussion. For both ethical reasons and to avoid needless infrastructure costs and line losses, generation should be geographically close to sources of user demand.

[Original Comment ID: 206813]