Hydro Today

Anyone who has followed our writings in the past year or so is aware of our almost fierce dedication to the cause of replacing all the fuels that criminally pollute our air, water and lands with power generated by the flow of clean reusable water.

One might also remember that our reverence for ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau knows no bounds and would remind everyone that the words pollution and saccage had new meanings due in part to his use of them.

We have also bombarded our readers with statistics galore: Water covers 70-75% of the earth; 3% of the earth’s water is fresh but only about half of that is available – the rest tied up in glaciers; 97% of the earth’s water is salt (brackish) the rest usable; only 1% of the earth’s water is drinkable, etc, etc, etc.

As a result of these statistics and a lot more, the question arises as to how can water be the answer to our fossil fuel generation pollution, including clean air, water and land if so little is available?

The answer is – it can with a lot of serious and continuous efforts on the part of humanity all around the world.

An example is in Africa, part of the so-called third world. Africa is a major area in which there is not enough clean water for children to drink resulting in abysmal infant and child death rates. In that same continent there are a number of huge waterfalls that could be “tamed” and made to generate millions of kilowatts of power which in turn could be used in to generate clean water – life saving water so badly needed today.

The desalination of water – also a subject of earlier writings – is another source of clean water – unlike hydropower developed by flowing or falling water. To desalinate (remove the salt from) sea water great amounts of heat are required and that heat is developed by burning of a fuel such as oil or natural gas. Fortunately coal is not used for desalination because sources of coal are not found close to the seacoasts.

We can, and will, go into the details of how unclean water is made safe to drink and use. There are a number of processes used and the history of their development and regularly improved use is one of the 20-21st century’s inspiring stories.

For now, we can all agree that clean water, clean hydropower and resulting clean ecology are certainties when the best efforts of humanity are put to their development and growth.

The Hydro Folks, as we have come to be known, are an expanding group and having more and more to say about relieving the fossil fuels of their burden very soon!