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Oregon Residents are Pitted Against
by LeeAnn Friedman
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Jason Eisdorfer of the Citizens' Utility Board was likely half joking in the article "BPA legal shift unfair to Oregon, critics say" when he said, "In Portland, for all the benefits we get right now, (the Bonneville Power Administration) may as well breach the dams and give us better fish passage," yet his point is interesting.
The BPA's financial mismanagement has led the Northwest into a situation where ratepayers and the salmon both lose out. The federal agencies have wasted billions of ratepayer and taxpayer dollars on an illegal salmon plan.
This money could be invested in alternative sources to replace power generated from inefficient, salmon-killing dams such as the four on the lower Snake River.
Instead, talking about sensible strategies for building a diverse energy portfolio unleashes bogeyman rhetoric about destroying the entire hydro system.
Now Oregon residents are pitted against Washington state residents on ratepayer issues. Don't get hoodwinked into thinking we have to sacrifice salmon for energy.
Related Pages:
Casey Wants Payments to Have a Purpose, by Jordan Kline, The Daily World, February 27, 2007
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