Hydropower is the largest single source of renewable electricity in the world, dwarfing solar and wind. As such, it has established a positive reputation in the media and many academic papers. But that’s not the whole story … Hydropower has a darker side that is threatening freshwater ecosystems more than oil, more than gas, and more than any other form of energy. As of 2019, the world’s total renewable energy capacity stood at 2,351 GW, of which around half—or 1,172 GW—was hydropower capacity. This includes both large dams and so-called run-of-the-river dams. Both have rather negative effects on the environment. Two-thirds of the world’s long rivers have been dammed to produce energy, freshwater scientist Jeff Opperman wrote in a recent story for Forbes. Some 70 percent of the planet’s wetlands have been lost, and much of this loss has to do with what we call water management and what […]