Harmful Hydro
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The Harmful Hydro Campaign works to raise awareness of the consequences of our dependence on hydroelectric power from Manitoba Hydro. The Sierra Club works to educate consumers about the human rights and environmental consequences of hydroelectric power and promote alternatives that do not destroy the environment and devastate communities.
Xcel Energy (formerly NSP) buys four percent of its energy from Manitoba Hydro, a state-owned and regulated subsidiary of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Approximately 30% of Manitoba Hydro's output is sold to Xcel. This hydroelectricity is generated by nine dams and reservoirs, constructed during the 1960s and 1970s, which forever altered millions of acres of fragile boreal forest and over 3000 miles of lake and river shoreline. The project devastated the subsistence communities of five Cree Nations, whose territories were exploited without their consent. Manitoba Hydro plans to build more dams for electricity export to the United States.
In 1977, Canada, Manitoba, and Manitoba Hydro entered into an agreement with the Cree Nations, promising to mitigate the environmental and social damages and support economic development. Not only have the governmental parties failed to abide by that agreement, the damage continues because of rapid and forceful water fluctuations that erode shorelines and islands, while trees, soils and other organic materials pollute the waters. The rivers and lakes - the Cree transportation system - are dangerous to navigate, because of the submerged rotting trees and dissolving islands. The water quality is very poor causing illness for many people in these communities, especially the children. The ongoing effects on these communities are also profound. Family violence, suicides, and suicide attempts are evidence of widespread despair.
Four of the five nations who signed the Northern Flood Agreement have, under extreme economic distress, ended their treaty rights under the 1977 agreement in exchange for compensation, mostly in the form of Manitoba Hydro bonds. Many of the people in the communities with implementation agreements are dissatisfied with their leadership concerning relations with Manitoba Hydro. Pimicikamak Cree Nation is continuing to wage a courageous struggle for what was promised to them, in order to heal and rebuild their community. In 1998 they first came to Minnesota to tell their story. Activists here have responded by organizing to raise community awareness and intervene in the regulatory process involved in the approvals necessary for a new 500 megawatt contract between Xcel and Manitoba Hydro and a proposed Minnesota Power 250-mile transmission line through northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.
In addition to the environmental and human rights implications in Canada of the generation of this energy, there are serious consequences for our community. At risk is a boreal forest, equivalent to the Amazon rainforest in size, ecological complexity, and importance to our North American ecosystem. Efforts to invest in local and regional development of energy conservation and alternative energies are adversely impacted by the importation of artificially cheap energy, which does not include the costs of mitigating its environmental and social impacts.
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For additional information, please contact Steve Birchler at 952-925-0500 or SBirch3@aol.com.For more information
A complete and up to date website on this issue is available at Just Energy.