Dear Mr.

President, I am Ryan Katz, a 13 year old 8th grade student at Alice Deal Middle School in Washington DC. I would like to begin by saying it was an honor to meet with the First Lady on May 4th. However, I am also writing to offer my opinion. With this letter there is also an essay I have written about hydroelectric power, which I believe to be the power source the United States needs to invest in to create a sustainable future for the country. While you are unlikely to change your policies based on the opinions of a 13 year old, or even read this letter, I hope it at least inspires you to take some sort of action against the use of fossil fuels in America. Sincerely, Ryan Katz

Hydroelectric Power Hydroelectric is generated by converting the energy of flowing water. It is being used more and more in the United States to cut down on the use of fossil fuel. Hydroelectricity is renewable, because it can be generated at least as fast as it is used. Hydroelectric power is already commonly used in countries like Canada and China. Hydroelectric power is very easy to create too. While hydroelectric power does have cons, they are negligible. Hydroelectric power will be able to replace fossil fuels because it is easily created, already tested, and has no significant cons. Hydroelectric is very easily created. The United States has over 75,187 dams already. Only 3% of these create 10-12% of the United States energy. That means only about 27% more would need to be converted in hydroelectric plants to power the entire country. In addition, hydroelectric plants are very low maintenance. They require no fossil fuels to run and they can last over 100 years. In fact, the still used hydroelectric plant in Niagara Falls was built in 1879, the first ever. Hydroelectric power is very easy to create because all it requires is flowing water. Hydroelectric power is also already tested. The first hydroelectric plant was built in 1879, and ever since then many countries have used it heavily. Chinas Three Gorges Dam generates power for their growing needs. In Canada, hydroelectric power is very commonly used, (59% of all power created is hydroelectric) and many provinces generate the majority of their power from hydroelectric plants already, meaning that it is easily possible. Norway generates 99% of its energy from hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric plants can so easily be used because of their low cost. Hydroelectric plants are the cheapest energy source, with an average of only 85 hundredths of a cent per hour. That is 50% the cost of nuclear, 40% the cost of coal and oil and 25% the cost of natural gas. In addition, hydroelectric plants are about 90% efficient, far higher than the next best efficiency of biofuel at 50%. That means more of the lower cost is effective. The United States would need to convert about 20,300 dams into hydropower plants to power the entire country. Finally hydroelectricitys cons are easily ignored. First they can be unsafe for fish. This is an incredibly easily solved problem. All you need is a grate to cover the water intake station. Also, cars cant have engines that work through hydropower. This can be solved by creating electric cars that are charged by hydroelectricity. In addition, dams can alter the natural environment. However, these dams create reservoirs which can be very important ecosystems. In addition, converting an already existing dam into a hydropower plant alters nothing. Most hydropower plant cons have to do with the flooding of valleys which displaces people, disrupts ecosystems, and so on. However, by using already existing dams, this problem can be easily solved. Hydroelectricitys ease of creation, history, cost effectiveness, and unimportant cons mean it can and should be the energy of the future. Hydroelectric power is already changing the world and will continue to do so. The facts that it is renewable and completely clean to make mean that it could solve problems based on Global Warming. It could also help our economy by lowering our dependence on foreign fuels. The only thing holding back hydropower is the

governments low funding. Only 26.6 million dollars are being put towards funding the future of the United States. Hydropower could change the world, if only that number could be increased. Bibliography "Facts About Hydropower." Wisconsin Valley Impovement Company. Wisconsin Valley Impovement Company. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://new.wvic.com/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=7&Itemid=44>. "Hydroelectric - Definition of Hydroelectric by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web. 08 May 2011. <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hydroelectric>. "Hydroelectric Power, How It Works, Facts & Info." Chiff.com - Your Guide to the Best Sites on the Web. Web. 08 May 2011. <http://www.chiff.com/society/hydro-electric.htm>. "Hydropower." What-When-How. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://what-when-how.com/waterscience/hydropower-water-science/>. "Pros and Cons of Hydropower Updated Article With New Information." Green Energy Investments and News. Web. 08 May 2011. <http://www.bionomicfuel.com/pros-andcons-of-hydropower/>. "Renewable Energy, Hydroelectric Power." Alternative Energy - Wind, Solar, Hydro and Other Alt Energy Sources for Home Power. Web. 08 May 2011. <http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/hydroelectric.html>. "U.S. Government Commits $26.6mn in Funding for Hydropower - POWER-GEN WorldWide." Power Engineering and PEI Magazines: Daily Coverage of Electric Power Generation Technology, Fuels, Transmission, Equipment, Coal Power Plants, Renewable Energy Sources, Emission Control, More - Power-Gen Worldwide. Web. 08 May 2011. <http://citrix.powergenworldwide.com/index/display/articledisplay/1805734741/articles/ powergenworldwide/renewables/hydro/2011/04/hydropower-funding.html>.