Ten Endangered Rivers

Every year the American Rivers organization puts out a list of the ten most endangered rivers.  The criteria are that the rivers can be saved if public pressure is brought to bear; if the river has significance to people and nature, and if the threat will harm the river and its communities.  Here’s the list and the threat:

Potomac River.  Threat–data centers

San Joaquin.  Threat–mining

Boundary waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  Threat–mining

Lumber River (NC).  Threat–forever chemicals and feed lot waste, mostly 

from pig farms

Rogue River.  Threat–mining

Chilkat River (Alaska).  Threat–mining

Nissequogue River (NY).  Threat–a dam

Dan River (VA and NC).  Threat–pipeline projects

Amargosa River (Nevada).  Threat–mining

Suwannee River (FL and GA).  Threat–excessive water withdrawals and 

pollution

Here is the problem.  The Trump Administration is a cheerleader for the mining, pipelines, and pig farm interests.  The Potomac is already over-burdened with data center issues, and the North Carolina pig farms are not about to stop using huge manure lagoons which often overflow.  People are still moving to Florida.  Perhaps the dam on the Nissequogue can be stopped, but environmentalists don’t seem all that popular or powerful these days.  

I would have added the rivers that flow into the Great Salt Lake.  The lake is drying up.  That will be an environmental disaster.