We have had a look at some the the actual and planed developments along the Teesta river in Sikkim (NE India). This 'green' electricity really isn't so 'green' when you take into account the carbon footprint of making concrete, the likely effects on ecotourism, the displacement of people, effects on rivers downstream, the decimation of unique river fish species etc. Sadly, it appears that some of the engineering companies (apparently often with little prior experience of dam construction) have gone bankrupt but there seems little possibility that the structures and mess they have left will be removed (remediation doesn't seem to be part of the contract in this part of the world). I can't help thinking that the driver in such developments is more for the profits for engineering companies than an expression of a real concern for 'green energy'. The dangers of dam building in an earthquake zone also appear to have been not fully considered.
No comments:
Post a Comment