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Regarding swedens hydro power: that was very much not a climate investment. It was a huge government undertakibg to provide power to the industry in a time when
by bjoli 5y ago
Regarding swedens hydro power: that was very much not a climate investment. It was a huge government undertakibg to provide power to the industry in a time when climate change was unheard of.
I constantly see it labeled as some sort of green miracle (even though the article in question isn't half bad). It was not. It was the government investing to accomodate a growong indistry, and as a result sweden got one of the greenest energy productions in the western world.
But as a matter of fact, almost nothing happened with regards to hydro power since the 70s.
- lm28469 5y agoI've read that hydro is so cheap and efficient that it's always the first thing developed countries invest in, and for the west that was a while ago, way before clean energies were a big topic. The thing is that once you've done it on all the major rivers you can't really do more. See France for example: https://energytransition.org/files/2015/02/14electricitygenerationbyfuel.png https://energytransition.org/files/2015/02/14electricitygene... Hydro dams aren't without side effects either, both on the landscape and the flora/flauna https://theconversation.com/hydropower-dams-can-harm-coastal-areas-far-downstream-114171 https://theconversation.com/hydropower-dams-can-harm-coastal...
- samizdis 5y agoAlso the effects on the politics of water availability, especially across borders. See this article [1], and many others besides. (I chose this one because of its recency and also because it seems less sensationalised than much of what I've read - even in journals/news sources usually considered to be reputable/level-headed.) [1] https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/ethiopia-s-mega-dam-is-about-to-reshape-the-water-politics-of-the-nile https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/ethiopia-s-mega-da...