3 ms·
> hydro plants could be producing more GHGs than even the dirtiest coal plants. Quebec and BC could actually be the dirtiest provinces and we just don't know.
by 908B64B197 5y ago
> hydro plants could be producing more GHGs than even the dirtiest coal plants. Quebec and BC could actually be the dirtiest provinces and we just don't know.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidences.
> Long story short, when trees decompose in an anaerobic environment, it produces methane instead of CO2, and also takes 4 times longer to decompose.
Assuming that's true, the GHGs for all the existing dams have been emitted already... making them 0 emissions now and for the rest of their lifetime. And now, if the methane hypothesis is true, this means there are now ways to mitigate that for future dams.
- soperj 5y agoThere are ways to mitigate it for future dams. No, they aren't all emitted, it takes decades for trees to break down in an aerobic environment. Anaerobic is 4 times longer. Most trees in the BC/Quebec areas that were flooded take at minimum 40 years to decay in an aerobic environment. Here's one about the Curuá-Una dam in Brazil: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11027-005-7303-7 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11027-005-7303-7 Key phrase: In 1990 (13 years after filling), the Curuá-Una Dam emitted 3.6 times more greenhouse gases than would have been emitted by generating the same amount of electricity from oil.