Tag Archives: hydroelectric

Hydro Impacts 101: The Trade-offs

By Linda Heron on Monday, November 6th, 2023
Posted in Agriculture, American Eel, Aquatic Life, Art, Brook Trout, Climate Change, Dam Removals, Dams, Energy, Flooding, GHG Emissions, Heavy Metal Contamination, Hydro Impacts 101: The Trade-offs, Impacts, Lake Sturgeon, Lake Trout, Mussels, ORA Reports, ORA Submissions, Presentations, River Concerns, Species at Risk, Turbines, Uncategorized, Water as a Commons, Water Quality

We’ve been sold the idea that hydropower is a clean, green, and non-emitting energy source.
But this is far from the truth!💔🌱

Check out this eye-opening infographic and the full report below to learn more about the hidden environmental and socio-economic costs of these projects! 🌊💰

  • Hydro impacts 101: the trade-offs

Hydro Impacts 101 – The Trade-offs

Learn about the extraordinary American Eel!

By Linda Heron on Sunday, June 25th, 2023
Posted in American Eel, AquaCulture, Aquatic Life, Dams, Endangered Species, Fish/Eel Mitigation & Recovery, Hydroelectric, Media, River Concerns, Species at Risk, Video

It’s a lizard, It’s a snake, It’s one of the most unique fishes in the world: the American Eel!

Known for their elongated bodies and short fins, these fish which were once very common in North American waterbodies, are now endangered. This is largely due to the presence of hydroelectric dams, which block their natural migration routes, making them unable to reach their breeding grounds in the ocean.

Learn more about their impressive migrations, extraordinary life cycle, and current conservation efforts through this short video.

ORA’s first Youth Engagement event!

By Linda Heron on Wednesday, April 12th, 2023
Posted in Alternatives, Aquatic Life, Climate Change, Dams, Energy, Environmental Registry, Events, Hydroelectric, Media, ORA Reports, ORA Submissions, Photos, Presentations, Regulatory Submissions, River Concerns, Safety, Turbines, Water as a Commons
ORA Hydroelectric Youth Engagement-1ORA Hydroelectric Youth Engagement-2ORA Hydroelectric Youth Engagement-3ORA Hydroelectric Youth Engagement-4ORA Hydroelectric Youth Engagement-5ORA Hydroelectric Youth Engagement-6ORA Hydroelectric Youth Engagement-7

ORA collaborated with Engineers Without Borders (UW Chapter) to host a youth engagement workshop for 35 grade 11 students in St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School on March 31st. The group included students from the STEM Club and from the Environment Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Red Seal Program. ORA offered the students a Sector-Partnered Experience (SPE) focusing on real-world environmental issues to be solved. Continue reading →

Is hydroelectric a pathway to decarbonization?

By Linda Heron on Sunday, March 12th, 2023
Posted in Art, Dam Removals, Dams, Energy, Government, Hydroelectric, Industry, Media, ORA Submissions, Regulatory, Regulatory Submissions, River Concerns, Video

Watch our video to understand how hydroelectricity is greenwashed by Ontario Power Generation as “clean” and “non-emitting” when there are hundreds of independent third-party studies to the contrary. Read our full submission here!

Please sign and share our petition to protect Ontario Rivers and send OPG a strong message! 

High Falls, Sturgeon River – 1993 Dam Project – MNR Report abandoned in 2006

By Linda Heron on Friday, April 12th, 2013
Posted in Dams, Hydroelectric, Interviews, Media, River Concerns, Rivers at Risk

Click here to Listen to this episode of Tapestry.

Season 18: Episode 29

Anthony Lawlor is an architect who has made it his job to find the sacred in the ordinary. He and Mary talk about how the divine is not limited to churches, mosques, synagogues and temples. Lawlor says you can find it everywhere, if you just look  – even in your own kitchen.  For more on our show and our guests…
I’m drawing your attention to the interview at 34:40 min.:
After that, we visit a place where a construction worker dug up something he didn’t expect to find. In High Falls, Ontario in the fall of 1992, a dam project was at a crucial phase. The plan was to generate hydro and provide development for the local economy.However, a skull and two bones showed up after several days of heavy rains. Testing revealed they were human remains, and suddenly, the site took on a whole new meaning for the nearby Poplar Point Ojibway First Nation.Many Ojibway believe that wind and rushing water are vital for communication between the living and the dead. The dam would block the voices of many ancestors. Jody Porter‘s documentary, This Powerful Place, explores the difficult questions faced from the perspective of one of the band’s elders and an archeologist hired to investigate.

Save Wabagishik Rapids – Vermilion River

By Linda Heron on Wednesday, January 16th, 2013
Posted in Hydroelectric, Media, River Concerns, Rivers at Risk, Vermilion River, Video, Wabagishik Rapids

Wabagishik Rapids is a beautiful 1 km stretch of rapids on the Vermilion River, about 1/2 hour west of Sudbury, Ontario.  A developer is proposing to build a modified run of river hydroelectric dam that would produce enough power to supply about 1,600 homes.  These types of dams have numerous negative impacts associated with them, and are very harmful to the riverine ecosystem.   Check out this film to find out more.

Full length film:

Short – 13 Minute Version:

Short 3 Minute preview of the full version:

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