Rivrguy,

A very good point about impacts. Presently the Federal Power Act has been amended numerous times and incorporates a lot of protection and mitigation standards on hydropower that formerly were lacking. Every time an old hydro project is relicensed, it becomes greener than it was before, Cowlitz, Lewis, Skagit, Baker, and Cushman coming immediately to mind. This is not uniform among differing energy sources. Natural gas gets a pass for being clean burning, but isn't required to mitigate for CO2 or climate change impacts. Tidal energy is still trying to study its impacts, and is a long way from identifying appropriate mitigation measures. And of course the old standby, coal, has been getting a free ride forever in spite of scrubbers and air quality restrictions. Nationally and globally, coal generates the most while mitigating the least for its environmental effects.

For all the bad words we who fish have to say about hydro, hydro is very likely the most fully mitigated of all energy sources, excepting solar.

Hank,

As a conservative I expect you'd like to see gas and oil priced at its true cost, thereby reimbursing the US Treasury for all the "Defense" $ spent to secure and maintain the security of our oil supply. That would be a natural and logical "user" fee, but maybe that appeals more to Libertarians than to conservatives who think global dominance is part of God's plan for the US..

Sg