… On one side, dams symbolize clean energy. On the other, their removal represents ecological restoration. This raises the obvious question: Which is better for the environment — clean energy from hydropower or free-flowing rivers? And is it really an “either-or” narrative? It’s a shared struggle against a slow, complicated system that hinders progress on both fronts. Bureaucratic inefficiency plays a role, as does the inherent challenge of managing the world’s most precious resource: water.