Dams and the United States: A New Era
Seth Jefson
“This dam removal is more than just a concrete project coming down. It’s a new day and a new era,” Yurok Tribe chairman Joseph James said. “To me, this is who we are, to have a free-flowing river just as those who have come before us. ... Our way of life will thrive with these dams being out” (oregonlive.com).
The dam’s removal from California’s second-largest river, the Klamath, for Joseph James and many more, marks a change in American ideology and provides hope for the future environmentalism of the country.
The United States began prolifically building dams during the later years of the depression in the 1930s and reached its peak productivity between the years 1951-1970. President Franklin Roosevelt invested dam building to create jobs during a time of overwhelming unemployment and to create more avenues of energy production. Both were worthy aims in their time and were carried out successfully. That generation was able to work their way out of a crisis situation.
This new generation of Americans seem to be following suit. More than 25,000 dams in the United States is at least 50 years old. They are no longer efficient producers of energy and many have overstayed their welcome in the environment. There are countless rivers that have been dammed throughout the country. Ecosystems have been heavily stressed and natural mating patterns for species (most notably salmon) have been largely interrupted or have ceased altogether.
It is important for us to identify these issues and address them accordingly. Not all dams are useless, but there are many that can be done away with. Restoring America’s natural landscape is important to combating climate change and retaining lands that sustained those before us. There is optimism, though, that this may be a new norm. We have to recognize steps in the right direction especially when solutions can restore habitats as quickly as removing a dam can. Perhaps we, too, will be a generation that can work our way out of a crisis.
