Damnation

From an early age we are taught that we are responsible for cleaning up our own mess. But this lesson also applies to our home planet. When we despoil a place with toxic waste, change our climate with fossil fuels or build a destructive and soon-to-be useless dam, we have the responsibility to clean it up and make it all whole and natural again. Time and again, I've witnessed how removing an unnecessary dam is the responsible, and eventually celebrated, choice. Here's how the decades long process often goes: One or two individuals decide an obsolete dam should be taken down. They persuade others, who help fund the effort and start the ball rolling against opposition from the dam owner, house boaters, water skiers, the Army Corps of Engineers, local politicians and sometimes Congress. But after many years the idea gains momentum and scientists get hired to do studies that take several more years. Finally, there's a groundswell that can't be ignored and reason wins out. At the final dam-busting ceremony, you get to hear all the local politicians take credit for "this great idea." And after the river is restored and the fish have returned you never hear a single person say, "Gee, I wish we had our dam back." Excerpted from DamNation All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.