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Freshwater Reservoirs: Global Warming’S Best Kept Secret, Beau Baily

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

Fresh water reservoir construction involves the decomposition of plants that were previously able to absorb greenhouse gas and prevent its release into the atmosphere. With these plants no longer able to absorb greenhouse gas, it is released into the atmosphere, making freshwater reservoirs a source of global warming. Due to an increasing demand for clean energy, countries are planning and constructing dams at unprecedented rates. With dams come reservoirs. While hydroelectric energy is clean energy, the methods used to harness that clean energy create environmental problems that contribute to global warming. Ironically, this hydroelectric boom could do more harm than …