A monthly members-only column by Alan Dulaney
We have learned over the last century that modern civilization cannot thrive in the desert without power to move water, and power cannot be generated without water. Water and power are the foundation of our technological adaptation; they are intertwined in a double helix, the DNA that facilitates our desert cities.
Hydroelectric power is perhaps the best example of this important relationship. Devoid of air pollutants from burning coal, minus the climatological impacts of utilizing any fossil fuels, and lacking the long-term care needed for spent fuel rods from nuclear generating stations, hydroelectric power is about as clean as it comes. This has been known in Arizona for over a century. Only 3 months after the first generating station at the base of Roosevelt Dam was turned on for a trial run by Salt River Project (SRP), it was generating clean power 24 hours a day.
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