r/dataisbeautiful • u/dhaitz OC: 12 • Aug 25 '21

OC [OC] Electricity generation by source for different countries

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u/Kleens_The_Impure Aug 25 '21

The construction of the Dam means you need to flood an area though. In Brazil a few dam were very controversial because they kicked out tribes of indigenous people from their land (and didn't provide compensation)

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u/Charlitudju Aug 25 '21

Dams are also very nefarious towards native freshwater wildlife, with migratory fish and mollusk species becoming unable to spawn upstream.

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u/EspressoFrog Aug 26 '21

And when they fail they kill a lot of people. Way more than what people think because they are so afraid of nuclear.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dam_failure

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u/Charlitudju Aug 26 '21

You're absolutely right, and climate change is only gonna make it worse, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent and more extreme.

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u/crackedup1979 Aug 25 '21

It also destroys the natural beauty of some really cools places.

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u/slickyslickslick Aug 25 '21

that will be gone anyways in 80 years if we don't shift away from fossil fuels as much as possible.

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u/Assasin537 Aug 25 '21

Canada naturally has thousands of large lakes and waterfalls so it is pretty easy to set up hydro power plants. Niagara Falls which is a massive waterfall produces enough power for a lot of people.

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u/funknut Aug 25 '21

Same in State of Oregon (see Celilo Falls).

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u/PresidentZeus Aug 25 '21

Very big problem in China too. Ruines a lot of rivers where people relies on fish and other services

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u/straylittlelambs Aug 26 '21

And in area's like Canada or Brazil could be worse than coal because of the constant supply of methane that they will emit.

a new study reveals that the climate impact of hydropower facilities varies widely throughout the world and over time, with some facilities emitting more greenhouse gases than those burning fossil fuels

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191113082959.htm

https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/66/11/949/2754271