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Orcas' Expensive Appetite by Norman A. Dixon The Olympian, July 28, 2017

How sad it is to learn that because Orcas prefer to eat only Chinook salmon, (Olympian, July 11) in lieu of other types of fish, that we should therefore dismantle the four hydroelectric dams on the Snake River to further preserve the Orcas' favorite food.

For the information of those dam-removal advocates such as Deborah Giles, the dams in question have been and will continue to provide clean, renewable energy for our region for many years to come. It would require three nuclear plants or six coal-fired plants with all their accompanying pollution and climate-changing effects to make up for the electricity supplied by these dams. Electric power now being generated from these dams provides a system-wide power base and is are able to compensate for fluctuations in wind and solar-generated power for maximum benefit. Original design and recent upgrades have provided for fish ladders at each dam, plus other enhancements that which promote fish preservation.

Perhaps the best way to convince the one-issue advocates of dam removal is to wait for them to turn on the light switch and nothing happens.