On Wednesday, eastern Washington’s Cathy McMorris Rodgers went before the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, and addressed the need to keep the Columbia and Snake Rivers dams as the US strives for clean energy. McMorris Rodgers noted the dams, which are so vital to farmers and the non-ag community alike, are under attack, not only at the federal level, but from Olympia as well.
Washingtonagnetwork.com quoted her as saying: “Governor [Jay] Inslee is currently spending almost $1 million of taxpayer money to justify doing this. Barging is one of the most efficient eco-friendly methods of cargo transportation. If the dams were breached, we’d have to look at other shipping methods. We export 90% of the wheat that is grown in my district - we also export 50% of the potatoes, we export peas, lentils, and garbanzo beans.”
McMorris Rodgers said for those who claim breaching the dams would benefit the environment, the numbers just don’t add up: “In 2017 alone, it would have taken 135,000 additional semi-trucks to move the cargo shipped on the Snake River. This would drastically increased emissions in Washington State, not to mention the additional congestion that we already face.”
She added rather than “wasting taxpayer money on an expensive effort to increase carbon emissions and decrease clean energy production,” the government should encourage the development of new technologies and efficiencies that improve the transportation sector.
