Earth Day At YSU - Wednesday, April 23

[Towntalk]

 The very first viable power plant generated by water and still in use today came from Niagara Falls and since then numerous hydro-electric power plants have been built and are still operating, one of the largest being the TVA plant, so hydro electric generated power is not new, but the question is, can the dams necessary be built in enough locations that this could be our main source of electric power, and what would the costs be to build even one new dam?

In the case of the TVA power dam, whole communities were flooded, and thousands of families were displaced in one of the largest public works programs of it's day.

Another was Hoover Dam, again a huge undertaking at enormous costs.

No one suggests that hydro-electric generated power is inefficient or outmoded technology, for it isn't, and it never will be, but the question comes down to costs in building these facilities. You can not build a hydro-electric power plant say on the Mahoning River, or for that matter any river in Ohio for the very simple reason that a constant flow of water is required, hence the need for a dam sufficiently large enough to run the generators. In the case of the Ohio River, several states through which the river flows would have to be on board, and the Ohio would have to stop being a transportation hub. A large amount of land would have to be acquired  at the point where the dam would be built, and this would mean that thousands of families would have to be relocated.

Bottom line? Does this country have sufficient money to undertake such mammoth projects? Certainly the private sector could never afford such a venture.

[jay]

Evening Earth Day Lecture
Will Focus on the Switch to Wind, Water and Solar Power

Wednesday, April 23, 7:30 p.m.

- Location -
Room 2000
Moser Hall
YSU Campus
Youngstown, Ohio

[jay]

Earth Day at YSU

Wednesday, April 23
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Learn What YSU's Students Are Doing
To Protect Our Planet

- Location -
Outside Kilcawley Center
(inside if raining)
YSU Campus
Youngstown,Ohio