All The Rivers Run: Fill & Download for Free

Q: Rivers run 24/7 so why don't we set up generators on all major rivers to power everything? The rivers would generate so much energy.That’s an excellent question—and an excellent example of why, when you know almost nothing about a subject, it’s safe to assume that smart people who do have already looked into it.Rivers run 24 by 7, except they don’t always. Most rivers are seasonal to some extent, undergoing wide variations in flow and not infrequent floods. Furthermore, most regions are subject to periodic climate swings and sometimes years of drought. As a result, to generate usable base load (dependable, 24/7 electricity on an economically meaningful scale), you can’t just stick a propeller in a river, you first need to build a reservoir.Then, if the slope of the river is sufficient, you can drop water down induction chutes into turbines, and discharge it below the reservoir. This, we call a hydroelectric dam, and they can be huge, with enough storage to last through years of drought and enough power for half a dozen towns:They can be tiny:And they can be somewhere in between:But all have their limitations.Tiny hydro like the middle example above is pretty much only available in the mountains. Otherwise, the slope of the stream bed is too shallow.Most rivers large enough to support commercial scale (grid scale) generation are also useful for navigation and recreation, and these alternate uses must somehow be incorporated.Hydroelectric installations hugely upset the natural river ecosystem. Indeed, large western US dams have pushed American salmon to the verge of extinction despite well-meaning and well-funded efforts to accommodate them.Hydroelectric often isn’t practical where the water is naturally laden with silt. Heavy silt can abrade the tunnels and turbines needed to operate the dam. Large reservoir dams allow silt to settle out before the water reaches the dam, but the sort of riverine project you suggest would often require essentially an artificial flood plain to de-silt the river ahead of the dam site.Reservoirs are heavy, and the energy stored in them is dangerous. Large hydro projects can only be located where the local geology can support the vast weight of impounded water, where the dam will be held firmly in place by the weight of the water behind it, and where the water pressure cannot force its way around the dam.This is the Old River Control Structure in Louisiana:It spans a set of artificially maintained channels by which Mississippi river water enters the Atchafalaya. It’s the only thing stopping the Mississippi from changing course and diverting for the next few centuries down toward Morgan City, an event that has happened periodically since the last ice age, and would certainly have happened decades ago without the intervention of man.Why do I bring this up? Because, mighty as Old Man River is, this is a terrible place for a power plant. The soil, you see.Think of the Mississippi like a giant pressure washer, constantly digging at the foundations of these structures…prodding…poking…seeking a weakness. Back when I was a kid, there was a flood and the Corps of Engineers found great gouts of dirty river welling up downstream of the control structure. The Mighty MS has found a hole and was in the process of changing its course. Only heroic efforts, huge public outlays, and the continual monitoring and replacing of riprock ever since has maintained the status quo. And in the long term, it’s a fool’s errand.You can’t build a dam in a damn mud pit.If you like science, you might enjoy my free award-winning scifi sampler.

Michael, I consider this selfie one of the most colorful because this is one of the most colorful dresses that I own.This picture was taken during a heatwave during summer in Southern California. The place that I was renting did not have air conditioning and the most coolest room was the bathroom. I think it was due to both the location and all the tile work.I was video chatting at the time and my friend asked me take a picture and send it because they liked the color of my dress. I was sweating, not glowing, like crazy and said offhandedly to my friend that I had a river running down the valley of my chest. Now whenever the weather turns hot the same friend asks me if the river has started running.

Years ago I was running along the river bank and came across a guy throwing a dog into the river with its legs tied together. He was presumably euthanizing the dog using an extremely inhumane method. Now whilst this guy looked mid-20s and reasonably “tough”, I had been training in martial arts for years and at the time was training around 30 hours per week. So I reacted without a great deal of thought. I dove into the water and rescued the dog, to which this guy responded with much anger and yelling that what I had witnessed was “none of my business”.By this time I had untied the dog and was standing by the river wet, cold and holding a lengthy piece of rope. This guy became quite threatening to myself and was very clear that he was simply going to repeat his actions with the dog. I reacted again without much thought … quickly subdued the guy physically … tied his arms and legs together … and threw him off the end of a jetty. I watched this guy struggle for a while, dragged him out of the river and left him on the river bank still tied up. I walked off with the dog and never heard anything further. I would assume that the guy didn’t call the police or anything to report my actions, and I suspect he was not the type that would want to involve the police in his affairs.The dog seemed to be a very friendly labrador/kelpie cross under twelve months old. I already had pets so I finished up rehoming him with a friend, who cherished this dog for another 15 years or so.This all happened around 25 years ago, before the days of mobile phones and cameras. Would I react any differently now knowing that someone could video and post my actions and potentially finish up in trouble with the police … nope, I suspect I would react in exactly the same way.