Amazing

I just couldn't let this go by without comment. In a time when Bushco blunders dominate the news (along with Lindsay Lohan's latest exploits), every once in a while something amazing rears its beautiful head. In this instance, a utility is actually destroying its power-generating dam. And the removal is expected to raise the numbers of the declining salmon.

Link

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The largest dam removal in the Pacific Northwest in 40 years began on Tuesday with blasts of 4,000 pounds of explosives, the dam's owner, Portland General Electric, said.

Eight feet of the 47-foot-tall Marmot Dam was removed by Tuesday afternoon and over the next two months there will be five more blasts, along with jackhammers working daily, company spokesman Mark Fryburg said. ...

When the dams were built, they ruined a natural fish run that biologists say the fish will rediscover and repopulate once the dams are removed, Fryburg said.

The river is home to winter steelhead, spring Chinook and coho salmon, all listed on the federal Endangered Species Act, Portland General Electric said.

"Steelhead and salmon need free-flowing rivers to survive," said Mike Myrick, a member of the Sandy River Chapter of Northwest Steelheaders. "Removal of Marmot Dam is a historic moment in salmon recovery taking place in the backyard of metropolitan Portland." ...

This is a truly notable event. I would hope that it becomes a model for other similar facilities. We can't continue down our current path.