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When Dams are Gone,
by Jim Thorn
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The Center for Whale Research is trying to make a case for breaching the Lower Snake River dams (advertisement in U-B Oct. 28).
The ad makes numerous mistakes. Consider the hydropower section.
Talk of surplus and losses to ratepayers and expense to operate is just obfuscation. Here is the straightforward truth.
At the very least (midwinter), those dams are powering 400,000 homes (about a kilowatt apiece).
At the most (late spring), those dams are powering 1.87 million homes. Maybe those homes aren't in Seattle, since once the power is on the grid, specific source and destination cannot be specified.
But for sure, those homes are somewhere, and when the dams are gone, they will be without power.
What does the Center for Whale Research propose to say to those 1.87 million powerless homeowners?
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