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The Snake River Dams in the Pacific Northwest have caused social and ecological problems. The dams have negatively impacted the environment and culture, and endangered wildlife, particularly salmon. The issue is politically divided, with Democrats wanting to remove the dams and Republicans wanting to keep them for clean energy. The dams also violate fishing treaties with Native American tribes. Removing the dams would improve the ecosystem and salmon population, but it would also affect the region's clean energy supply. Currently, there is no solution, but efforts are being made to find one. Hello, this is Avery and my co-host Charlie from the Forces of Nature podcast and we will be talking about the Snake River Dams. The Snake River Dams are a series of four dams in the Pacific Northwest that cause social and ecological distress. We will be talking about the effects of these dams and what solutions could possibly work for the issues coming from these dams. Madeline is a researcher who has been looking at these dams for the past seven years. So Madeline, you've studied the effects of these dams? Yes, I've noticed that many plants and land structures around these rivers are not as luscious as they used to be. And wildlife is being put in danger. Going back to the beginning, the U.S. has wanted to have a net zero carbon footprint in 2050. For anyone that doesn't know, a carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, that are generated by our actions. A part of what would help us get there is dams. The Snake River Dams were built between the 1960s and the 1970s and have some immediate concerns. Throughout the years, it has created a ton of clean energy for use, but negatively impacted the local and regional environment and culture. What about the social effects of these dams? Many people fish in these rivers as a part of their culture. And salmon are in danger, with one species of salmon already being extinct. There are fish ladders on these dams, but they are not enough to stop the salmon population from diminishing. Some politicians are debating whether they should remove the dams, but other groups of politicians think that these dams are very important sources of energy and should stay. Do you think the social impact affects the political aspects of the dams? Yes, definitely. This issue is very split between two main political parties. Democrats are mainly on the side of taking out the dams due to social and environmental effects, but Republicans are mainly on the side of keeping the dams because of all the clean energy they produce. Like everything, this is not a black and white issue. A lot of people have opposing opinions of the dam, contradicting the majority of their political party. On to the next question. How do you think this affects the general population? How does it affect us and can we do anything about it? Aside from the fact that this dam provides a ton of clean energy for people in the Pacific Northwest, which would be one of the main problems if we took the dams away, as far as I know, there isn't really anything most people can do other than spread awareness and hopefully someone finds a solution that could work for everyone. How does this issue relate to justice? Are all demographics equally impacted? Why? So these dams impact multiple different tribes along the river because the fishing treaty they have with the U.S. government is being violated. And taking this would take away their cultural practices and heritage, which would lead to social injustice because it takes away from their traditional way of life. In 1855, the Nez Perce tribe signed a treaty with the U.S. government that specifically retained the tribal right to fish within the boundaries of a 13.4 million acre area as well as in usual and accustomed places beyond these limits. Not only are salmon an important part of the people's culture, but salmon are also an important part of the ecosystem. So by killing them, the whole ecosystem is affected. Meaning that organisms that are eaten by salmon are affected, which can cause an imbalance, which could even affect humans. These dams also supply a great percentage of the Pacific Northwest's clean energy, providing 3,000 megawatts each year. Without the dams, people who get energy from the dams won't be affected. The dams reduce our carbon footprint, which is important in the fight against climate change, which is really important considering that climate change is becoming a serious hazard for us in the future. The U.S. government spent $17 billion adding fish ladders and other measures in an effort to recover the salmon along these rivers, with barely anything to show. The salmon population is still diminishing rapidly, which is a big issue. With these dams, less sediment is running through these rivers, and sediment is in charge of creating habitats for the living organisms in these rivers. So this means the organisms in these rivers are not getting the habitats they normally have. If we take away these dams, it would provide a healthier river, an overall healthier ecosystem, as well as not violating the fishing treaty with the Nez Perce tribe, and would improve the salmon population. But if we took away the dams, it would take a big portion of the Pacific Northwest's energy. There's no solution that has been found yet, but it is being worked on, and hopefully a conclusion would be found. Thank you for listening to our podcast. Thank you, Madeleine, for joining us this week, and join us next week to talk about deforestation on the Forests of Nature podcast.