[MCN] has combustion of fossil fuels in any way forced down the potential for hydropower?

[Lance Olsen]

Google AI Overview
Yes, the combustion of fossil fuels indirectly forces down hydropower potential by causing climate change <https://www.google.com/search?q=climate+change&oq=has+combustion+of+fossil+fuels+in+any+way+forced+down+the+potential+for+hydropower%3F&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAtIBCTM5MTkxajBqNKgCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDIXpAkS4LTDOiCnJRHgyKqNBL4qZ5UVuxLR8giebyt6IgY4_iEEGNksa9LKyzdtikqfK25T5d5cA2vvaZp8XHFdBRWpPGQuayy2UHWzjvD31M2G0rXr-sQ84lDnkfEuaJzRvCHVa4IXJJDyjMq0G6quiYhD0dntC1qEgeomT04LUc&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwifwd_v8KuRAxW7FDQIHWhuCs0QgK4QegQIAhAB> (leading to droughts, lower water levels, and reduced output) and by creating a gap filled by fossil fuels when hydro fails, which increases emissions and reliance on them, even as new hydro projects are developed to meet clean energy goals. The shift to variable renewables (wind/solar) needs hydro for storage, but climate impacts on rivers are making hydro less reliable, forcing more fossil fuel use in the short term, creating a negative feedback loop. 

How Fossil Fuels Impact Hydropower Potential:
Climate Change <https://www.google.com/search?q=Climate+Change&oq=has+combustion+of+fossil+fuels+in+any+way+forced+down+the+potential+for+hydropower%3F&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAtIBCTM5MTkxajBqNKgCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDIXpAkS4LTDOiCnJRHgyKqNBL4qZ5UVuxLR8giebyt6IgY4_iEEGNksa9LKyzdtikqfK25T5d5cA2vvaZp8XHFdBRWpPGQuayy2UHWzjvD31M2G0rXr-sQ84lDnkfEuaJzRvCHVa4IXJJDyjMq0G6quiYhD0dntC1qEgeomT04LUc&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwifwd_v8KuRAxW7FDQIHWhuCs0QgK4QegQIBBAB> & Droughts: Fossil fuel emissions drive global warming, causing more extreme weather, including prolonged droughts. Lower rainfall and snowpack mean less water in rivers, reducing reservoir levels and hydropower generation (e.g., at Lake Mead/Hoover Dam).
Increased Reliance on Fossil Fuels: When hydro output drops due to drought, coal <https://www.google.com/search?q=coal&oq=has+combustion+of+fossil+fuels+in+any+way+forced+down+the+potential+for+hydropower%3F&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAtIBCTM5MTkxajBqNKgCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDIXpAkS4LTDOiCnJRHgyKqNBL4qZ5UVuxLR8giebyt6IgY4_iEEGNksa9LKyzdtikqfK25T5d5cA2vvaZp8XHFdBRWpPGQuayy2UHWzjvD31M2G0rXr-sQ84lDnkfEuaJzRvCHVa4IXJJDyjMq0G6quiYhD0dntC1qEgeomT04LUc&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwifwd_v8KuRAxW7FDQIHWhuCs0QgK4QegQIBBAD> and natural gas <https://www.google.com/search?q=natural+gas&oq=has+combustion+of+fossil+fuels+in+any+way+forced+down+the+potential+for+hydropower%3F&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAtIBCTM5MTkxajBqNKgCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDIXpAkS4LTDOiCnJRHgyKqNBL4qZ5UVuxLR8giebyt6IgY4_iEEGNksa9LKyzdtikqfK25T5d5cA2vvaZp8XHFdBRWpPGQuayy2UHWzjvD31M2G0rXr-sQ84lDnkfEuaJzRvCHVa4IXJJDyjMq0G6quiYhD0dntC1qEgeomT04LUc&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwifwd_v8KuRAxW7FDQIHWhuCs0QgK4QegQIBBAE> plants often ramp up to fill the energy gap, increasing emissions and counteracting clean energy goals.
Disruption of Energy Mix: Hydropower is crucial for grid stability and complementing intermittent solar/wind. A shortfall in hydro forces greater reliance on fossil fuels, hindering the transition to renewables. 
The Interconnected Energy System:
Negative Feedback Loop: Fossil fuels (via emissions) reduce hydro's effectiveness, forcing more fossil fuel use to compensate, creating a cycle that works against decarbonization.
Enabler vs. Competitor: While new hydro is planned to support renewables, the climate impacts from existing fossil fuel use undermine hydro's role as a stable, clean energy source. 
In essence, fossil fuel combustion's primary impact is through climate change, which directly reduces water availability, thus lowering the potential and reliability of hydropower. 
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“That social influences shape every person’s  practices, judgments and beliefs  is a truism to which anyone will readily assent. …. For psychologists, group pressure upon the minds of individuals raises a host of questions they would like to investigate in detail.

“How, and to what extent, do social forces constrain people’s opinions and attitudes? This question is especially pertinent in our day.”

Solomon E. Asch. Opinions and Social Pressure.

Scientific American. November 1955

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“Thirty-five years ago, Yale psychologist Irving Janis published an essay in the Yale Alumni Magazine explaining how a group of intelligent people working together to solve a problem can sometimes arrive at the worst possible answer.”

"Members consider loyalty to the group the highest form of morality.”

“Nobody today says, My area is groupthink. But what emerged subsequent to groupthink was an area called "judgment and decision making," which is one of the most important areas in all of psychology. In fact Danny Kahneman won the 2002 Nobel Prize based on his research into how rational people make irrational decisions.

Philip Zimbardo ‘59PhD 
Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Stanford University

https://yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/1947/a-brief-history-of-groupthink




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