Experiential Science 30: Disturbance and Development: Student Handout: Hydroelectric Damming Case Study

• Tracking Change in the Classroom: Local and Traditional Knowledge in Watershed Governance

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Karsgaard, Carrie; Mackay, Mackenzie; Catholique, Alexandria

• Hydro dams are a great source for renewable energy in regions where water is plentiful. They use the force of running water to generate energy through dams across rivers. Hydropower is a replacement for harmful fossil fuels that contribute to climate change, positively impacting the health of the planet. Hydro dams do not release pollutants into the air, meaning the air around them remains clean to breathe. However, hydro damming has significant environmental impacts on local ecosystems. Hydro damming blocks fish migrations, traps sediments upstream that are important to downstream ecosystems, and keeps Indigenous peoples from accessing some of their traditional fishing areas.

• Date created

  2020-06-01

• Subjects / Keywords

  • hydroelectric development, dams, environmental impacts, impacts on fishing communities, local traditional knowledge, Indigenous peoples

• Type of Item

  Learning Object

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-4hva-sb34

• License

  Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International