Beginning thousands of years ago to crush grain and eventually to power the ever-growing textile industry, hydropower is the one of the oldest sources of renewable energy. The United States began to use hydropower in the 1800s and as a nation we have relied upon it heavily ever since (Carless). Towns that were geographically inclined to use hydropower began to capitalize upon this source of cheap, accessible, and reliable energy. In 1882, the first hydroelectric facility was built in Appleton Wisconsin, and in 1885 Aspen Colorado became the first town west of the Mississippi to be powered by hydroelectric power (City of Aspen).
Following the initial boom of hydropower, development began to increase steadily; however, it was not until the 1930s that hydropower was thrown on to the national stage. The Great Depression hit hard, and there was dire need for jobs, energy, hope and national pride. Hydroelectric dams were the answer. Included in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program was the development of hydroelectric projects. The Hoover Dam and the Tennessee Valley Authority are the two most well known projects (Grace). The projects were intended to provide jobs, cheap energy, and create monetary flow. The most interesting part of the construction of the Hoover Dam was that yes it provided energy to support the war effort, and it irrigated the West, but it also provided hope to a nation that was distraught and torn apart. “Formed of sculpted concrete and designed to last a thousand years, dams rise like monuments in the deserts of the West. They are America’s cathedral, its castles, its pyramids.” (Grace, 41) At the time there was no concern for the ecological damage caused by pouring tons of concrete into a pristine canyon, there was instead a mindset of using all the resources available. As Grace put it, “In those days the worst nightmare of a water ‘conservationist’ was a river’s flow that served no practical purpose.” (98) Cheap energy, cash, irrigation of the West, and awe-inspiring architectural accomplishments were the primary goal of the Hoover Dam and it worked brilliantly- it brought the nation together at a critical time. “In one of America’s grimmest periods, as the economy crumbled and people lost confidence in themselves and their country, dams provided jobs and the energy needed to win the war.” (Grace, 85) The charm and awe of the great dams have worn off now and, “For an increasingly large segment of the American public, dams have come to symbolize misplaced faith in harnessing natural resources.” (Grace, 128) |
Below are quotes from Stephen Grace's book, DamNation, that express the mindset surrounding the construction of the Hoover Dam.
- “Powell advocated building dams to create reservoirs that act as giant sponges, soaking up water during wet weather, squeezing it out during drought.” (33) - “Reclamation, the process of reclaiming land from a less useful condition, restoring or recovering it so that is can be put to productive use, came to be defined in the western United States as building dams.” (41) “The desert was reclaimed and turned into a garden; the dry nightmare was transformed into a dreamscape of abundance.” (53) “Regardless of the cost of the dam in dollars and environmental detriment, it did wonders for the spirit of a cowed America. A symbol of rebirth sculpted in concrete, the megadam served as a source of wonder and pride when the nation desperately needed a boost. Bigger dams would be built, but few would ever be as important to the psyche of a nation.” (80) “It is easy to look at Hoover and Grand Coulee and see a river stilled, or a run of salmon extirpated. But the people who raised those dams, but their vision and their labor, helped stop the nation from slipping into a abyss so dark that no amount of wild beauty would have mattered.” (85) “Dam first, ask questions later. There was no environmental impact reports, no detailed studies to assess economic benefits. No public comment periods, no revised alternative implementation strategies.” (90) “Dams are not inherently good or bad; they are the product of people’s thinking writ large, and as such, sometimes they are incandescently brilliant, sometimes tragically flawed.” (128) |