Water & Energy Solutions / solutions

Google Earth Tour Reveals How a Global Dam Boom Could Worsen the Climate Crisis

International Rivers and Friends of the Earth International have teamed up to create a Google Earth 3D tour and video narrated by Nigerian activist Nnimmo Bassey, winner of the prestigious Right Livelihood Award and chair of

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A Bright Future For Hydro – Without Dams

• From March 2010 World Rivers Review
  

A quiet revolution is underway in the world of hydropower. An emerging non-dam based hydro industry holds the promise of economically viable technologies that do not deplete resources or warm the planet, and do not wipe out species, ecosystems and cultures. With supportive policies from governments, non-dam hydro could become a key part of the world's energy mix over the coming decades, and could, as wind power already has, overtake big-dam hydro in terms of its share of new capacity additions.

Cahora Bassa power lines bypass Zambezi villagers (Lori Pottinger)

Mozambique has among the lowest uses of electricity in the world. Yet virtually all of the electricity it does produce from Cahora Bassa Dam on the Zambezi is shipped to its wealthy neighbor, South Africa. As the government prepares to build another costly large dam on the Zambezi that will also power South Africa rather than homes and businesses in Mozambique, a new report lays out a saner plan for developing renewable energy sources across the nation that would share the energy wealth more equitably; diversify the national electricity grid to help the nation adapt to climate change (which is expected to significantly affect large hydro), and build a clean energy sector that would also spare the Zambezi.

New Plan Shares the Wealth, Spares the Zambezi 

• From September 2009 World Rivers Review

Mozambique is painting itself into a corner.

Wind turbine (Archive)

Brazil's electric sector says the country's energy future hinges on damming the rivers of Amazonia. But the Amazon could be protected and people's energy needs met through aggressive investment in energy efficiency and true renewables such as biomass, small hydro, solar and wind.

In South Asia, the demand for electricity is growing rapidly. At the same time, countries in the region have some of the highest electricity transmission and distribution losses globally. Reducing those losses could provide significant amounts of additional electricity.

Electricity brings many benefits. But generating electricity has also caused massive envi-
ronmental and social problems. We must revolutionize the way we produce and use ener-
gy to reduce these impacts while providing energy services to the billions of people who have
inadequate or no access to electricity. Population growth makes the challenge even harder.

A sea change is needed to get solar power widely distributed in Africa. An article by a solar expert in Kenya, from World Rivers Review, December 2006.