Instead of using fossil fuels, we are told to use “clean” energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower.

Hydropower is the most reliable. Unlike wind and solar, it flows steadily.

But now environmental groups are trying to destroy the dams that generate hydroelectric power.

“Destroy the dam!” activists chant New Videos“Now is the time, time to catch a fish!”

Activists are targeting four dams on Washington state's Snake River, which they say are causing salmon extinction.

It is true that dams have killed many salmon in the past because pregnant fish have to swim upstream to give birth to their offspring, which then swim downstream to the ocean.

Suddenly, the dam was in the way.

Salmon populations have declined sharply.

But that was the 1970s.

Today, most salmon pass the dam without a problem.

how?

New technologies to protect fish, such as fish ladders and spillways, keep most of the salmon away from power turbines. (Related: John Stossel: Presenting the Left's Provocative New Plan to Make the World Miserable)

“Between 96 and 98 percent of the salmon make it through each dam,” says Todd Myers, environmental director at the Washington Policy Center.

Even federal science agencies now say the fish will be fine if the dams are left in place.

But environmental groups don't raise money by acknowledging good news.

“Snake River Salmon in Peril,” the Earthjustice headline read.

The gullible media will be fooled by it.

The Snake River, an evening news anchor claimed, is “the most endangered river in the country!”

“That's simply not true,” Myers explains. “If you look at the actual population numbers, you'll see that that's ridiculous.”

This is completely absurd: salmon populations are larger in recent years than they were in the 1980s and 1990s.

“They make these claims because they know people will believe them,” Myers said. “They don't want to believe that their favorite environmental group is dishonest.”

However, there are many who are not like this.

In 1999, environmental groups took out an advertisement in the New York Times stating that “salmon will be extinct by 2017.”

“Did the environmentalists apologize?” I asked Myers.

“No,” he says, “they're making pretty much the same arguments today, just on a different date.”

I invited 10 activist groups who wanted to destroy the dams to come to my studio to defend their claims about salmon extinction. Not one group agreed.

I can see why: they have already convinced the public and gullible politicians.

“There's no realistic way we can keep the dams in place,” said Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

“We continue to do stupid things,” Myers says, “putting money into things that have no environmental impact, and then 10, 20, 30 years later we wonder why we haven't made any environmental progress.”

Politicians and activists want to destroy the dams on the Snake River, even though they generate a lot of electricity.” (Related article: John Stossel: Biden bureaucrats will put a kill switch in your car)

“That's roughly the same amount as all the wind and solar turbines in Washington state,” Myers says. “Imagine if I told environmental groups that we needed to remove all the wind turbines and solar panels? They'd be mad. But that's essentially what they're arguing for by removing the dams on the Snake River.”

“They say, 'Just build more wind turbines,'” I counter.

“The problem is that several times a year the wind doesn't blow,” he replies. “You can build 10 times as many wind turbines, but if there's no wind there's no electricity.”

Hydroelectric power, on the other hand, “can be turned on and off whenever needed. Removing hydroelectric power and replacing it with wind power just doesn't make sense – it would cause serious damage to the power grid.”

“It's not their money,” I point out.

“You're right,” he says. “If we want to spend $35 billion on salmon, we could do a lot of things that would actually make a difference.”

like what?

“The Washington Academy of Sciences (which reduces seal and sea lion populations) says that unless we reduce the populations, salmon will not recover,” he says.

“People used to hunt sea lions,” I point out.

“Well, that's the reason for the population growth today.”

However, environmentalists do not want the sea lions and seals to be hunted, and are instead pushing for the destruction of the dams.

“It sells because it's sexy and dramatic,” Myers says. “It's more about making you feel good than it is about the environmental impact.”

Stossel posts a new video about the fight against government and freedom every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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