Largest Dam Removal Project in History Prompts Cross Country Pilgrimage to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting

A confluence of economic, environmental and public health disasters taking place on the Klamath River as a result of PacifiCorp's four dams has prompted a growing chorus of California fishermen, farmers, Native American tribes, public health officials, environmental groups as well as state and federal agencies to call for the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.

Klamath Basin tribal elders and commercial fisherman will travel to Omaha , NE where CEO Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are meeting and will urge the company to make the smart business decision and bring down the dams. State and Federal agencies also recommend dam removal as the most cost- effective alternative.

Removing the dams will save PacifiCorp, a recent acquisition of Berkshire Hathaway, an estimated $100 million per year and can be done without increasing greenhouse gas emissions according to the California Energy Commission.

In addition to decimating the Klamath salmon population, commercial fishing, tourism and tribal culture, the dams, which generate less than two percent of PacifiCorp's electricity, have created a serious public health hazard with toxic algae concentrations 3,900 times greater than a standard set by the World Health Organization. Local public health agencies have posted warnings to avoid physical contact with the water.

A confluence of economic, public health and environmental disasters taking place on the Klamath River as a result of PacifiCorp's four dams (which generate less than 2 percent of the company's electricity) has prompted these diverse stakeholders to take their case on the road. The dams are destroying what had been one of the great salmon rivers of the world. The loss of salmon is decimating the fishing industry, tribal cultures, and all the communities dependent on them. But "it's no longer just a matter of fish. It's now a human health issue," said Zeke Grader, director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. Toxic liver-damaging algae blooms and massive fish-kills are common day occurrences for Klamath communities. Federal and state agencies recommend taking the dams down due to their environmental impacts. And what Warren Buffett also should know is that all this is bad business because removing the dams actually is the utility's cheapest option.  

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Source:  http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_55797.shtml