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Dammed to Extinction Screening and Panel Discussion – By Lynn Roesch

by Anne Miller May 11, 2022 0

On April 24th, the Meaningful Movies Bellevue group screened the documentary, Dammed to Extinction, and hosted a panel discussion immediately after the film. The evening’s speakers included Jim Waddell, Dam Sense (https://damsense.org/); Tony Jones, Rocky Mountain Econometrics (http://www.rmecon.com); Scott Levy from Bluefish (http://bluefish.org/); and Heather Nicholson, owner-member Orcas Power and Light Company. 

Created by Peterson Hawley Productions, Dammed to Extinction features orca whale researcher and founder of the Center for Whale Research’s (CWR), Ken Balcomb. Having studied the Puget Sound Southern Resident Orca for over 40 years, Balcomb is familiar with the survival needs of the Chinook salmon and the Resident Orcas. He has watched the region’s salmon numbers plummet and the Southern Resident Orca starve. Balcomb’s solution is to breach the four dams on the lower Snake River, once the largest Chinook-producing river on earth. Concerned scientists, economists, and conservationists are working together with many activists to remove these dams so that the salmon will return in great numbers and save the orca that rely on them. The speakers reinforced their message with data and information that the four dams on the lower Snake River could be breached because their value as cost-effective producers of energy has diminished and environmentally-friendly alternatives (ie solar, wind) exist for consumers

Dammed to Extinction sends a clear message: the lower Snake River dams must be breached now! The film also makes the case that we still have time to save the salmon and the orca if we act quickly to remove the four Lower Snake River Dams.

There are many ways each of us can get involved.

• Contact President Biden to order immediate breaching. (https://www.damtruth.org/take-action);
• Write a letter and call Senators Cantwell and Murray;
• Contact Governor Inslee as well. Spread the word through your network;
• Organize a screening and panel discussion for Dammed to Extinction 
• Attend a march;
• Start a public utility for your community;
• Contact the speakers from tonight’s panel, get informed, and support their organizations by volunteering and donating.

Find out more ways to take action as well as information on how to make phone calls and /or send messages to your elected leaders and government officials at Dam Truth (https://www.damtruth.org). Get Involved! 

Take a listen to the recording of the discussion and the Q&A that followed so you can hear what our speakers and attendees had to say, get educated on the need to remove the dams, and feel empowered to volunteer! 

The link to the recording is here: https://youtu.be/1INju-xTpko

The link to the written summary of the chat messages is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZIV_zAH55ClQE3EPafIqlHiAvKEvYZwQ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107174428777792930389&rtpof=true&sd=true

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The link to the Dammed to Extinction Website is here: 

https://www.dammedtoextinction.com/