I have always had the impression that the environmentalists operate solely on feelings and ignore facts but saw a recent article confirming it once again. Some time ago I heard they were tearing down some dams in Washington State and didn’t think anything of it because we have a lot of old coffer dams that are aging and getting weak threatening to break and cause floods. Recently I saw an article saying these are hydroelectric dams being torn down to save the salmon. Salmon swim up river to breed and the dams blocked them so they couldn’t breed and their numbers declined. The environmentalists pointed this out in the 1970’s. That is true and so the government built salmon ladders which are a series of pools like a ladder to allow the fish to swim up over the dam. That solved the problem and the salmon returned. Now the environmentalists are again claiming that the dams are threatening the salmon, even though their numbers are increasing. The dams don’t pose any threat. The problem is that these are hydroelectric dams which produce electricity. The environmentalists are pushing for solar panels and wind turbines to replace coal and gas fired generators. Yet they are not dependable because the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine. While some hydroelectric dams in the west are being threatened by low water levels due to drought, that is a rare occurrence and that is not a problem in Washington State. Water generated electricity is generally dependable and consistent and tearing down hydroelectric dams to solve a problem that doesn’t exist doesn’t make sense. The fish aren’t having a problem so why should we tear down the dams, when we really need them. The salmon numbers are below what they should be but it isn’t due to the dams. Animal protection activists fought to ban the killing of walruses and seals so they have been multiplying and one of their principle foods is salmon. Hunting used to control the numbers of walruses and seals but when hunting them was banned, they have multiplied out of control. Nature has a delicate balance and when we tinker with one thing, it may effect others. We built dams and it caused a problem so we built salmon ladders and solved the problem. That is the way to approach problems. You don’t just jump on something because it looks like a problem, because it may not really be a problem.