Tag Archive for 'Oregon'

Project to pour water into volcano to make power

Published on 01/16/2012 in hydropower and solutions and outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Project to pour water into volcano to make power

“Geothermal energy developers plan to pump 24 million gallons of water into the side of a dormant volcano in Central Oregon this summer to demonstrate new technology they hope will give a boost to a green energy sector that has yet to live up to its promise.

“They hope the water comes back to the surface fast enough and hot enough to create cheap, clean electricity that isn’t dependent on sunny skies or stiff breezes _ without shaking the earth and rattling the nerves of nearby residents.

“Renewable energy has been held back by cheap natural gas, weak demand for power and waning political concern over global warming. Efforts to use the earth’s heat to generate power, known as geothermal energy, have been further hampered by technical problems and worries that tapping it can cause earthquakes.

“Even so, the federal government, Google and other investors are interested enough to bet $43 million on the Oregon project. They are helping AltaRock Energy, Inc. of Seattle and Davenport Newberry Holdings LLC of Stamford, Conn., demonstrate whether the next level in geothermal power development can work on the flanks of Newberrry Volcano, located about 20 miles south of Bend, Ore.”

Read more: SLT today

sammykayed

Salmon-Eating Sea Lions Sentenced to Die

Published on 05/15/2011 in dams, rivers and solutions and outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Salmon passing through the fish ladder at Bonneville Dam in Washington State.  State officials in Washington and Oregon have been authorized to kill sea lions just below the dam that have been gorging on salmon.

Retrieved from: NY Times

“For the crime of snacking on endangered salmon, dozens of sea lions have been sentenced to die.

“On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had authorized state officials in Oregon and Washington to “lethally remove” a population of sea lions which for years have congregated just below the Bonneville Dam, about 150 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and gorged on salmon migrating upriver to spawn.

“This is not an easy decision for our agency to make, but a thorough analysis shows that a small number of California sea lions preying on salmon and steelhead are having a significant effect on the ability of the fish stocks to recover,” William W. Stelle Jr., the Northwest regional administrator for N.O.A.A.’s Fisheries Service, said in a statement.

“The states will be allowed to kill up to 85 sea lions per year, but only those that are known to be eating salmon.

“A previous decision by the agency to authorize the killing of the animals was halted by a federal appeals court after a lawsuit by animal rights groups. That lawsuit was struck down late last year.

“Numbering about 240,000 on the West Coast, the species known as the California sea lion is considered to be in good shape, N.O.A.A. said. By contrast, several salmon species on the Columbia River, including the steelhead, are listed as endangered and have been a major concern for fisheries biologists in recent years.”

Read more: NY Times

sammykayed