Älvräddarna – Saving Our Rivers

We need energy. That´s a fact.
In the Nordic countries, we are blessed with lots of different energy sources, providing plenty of energy for the Nordic market.
That´s why you can still find some free-flowing rivers up here. Not many – most of the big rivers were developed and ruined long ago – but a few still remain.
Unfortunately, several of these last few truly wild rivers are now severly threatened. The current focus on renewable, socalled “green” energy has made it politically possible to start building power plants again.

This time, the power people have turned their eyes to the smaller rivers. The really sad stuff is that these small power plants often generate far too little energy to generate a profit – if they hadn´t recieved the heavy subsidies from the Nordic governments, that is.
And because these rivers are so small, destroying them doesnt´t make big headlines either. The debate is virtually non-exsistant up here. Hundreds of irreplaceable eco systems are threatened, and virtually no one talks about it.
Bad news.

The good news is that there are at least some people who are trying their best to stop this madness. And one Nordic organisation really stands out.
They´re Swedish, called Älvräddarna, and they´re doing one hell of a job!
Check out their site here.
You can support them by becoming a member, by donating money, or by joining/liking them on Facebook.

There should be an organisation like this in every country. Let´s make it happen!

Thanks to André Brun at thetroutbum.com for photos.