Large dams threaten the planet's riverine lifelines and action must be
taken soon.
Rivers act as the planet's circulatory system. Like our body's
circulation system, the planetary one doesn't work very well when it's
clogged. If a river's flow is its heartbeat, then we humans are the
heart disease. We've blocked most major rivers with dams, bled them
dry with water diversions, and given up all too many once-great rivers
for dead once we've used them up.
Free-flowing rivers are now such a rarity that they would be
classified as an endangered species if they were considered living
things rather than merely the support systems for all living things.
We can take small comfort from the fact that rivers have a natural
ability to self-heal � but we can't just wait for rivers to chip away
at the dams that clog them. First, we need to protect remaining free-
flowing rivers while we still have some to protect.
(Learn more about what we must do to protect rivers, and why. Read the
full article on Al Jazeera:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/01/2012199452986826.html)
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