Direct/ALtErnating Current

Delphine ducharme

Direct current or DC is an electric current whose intensity is time-independent (constant).

In a world where the sustainable use of natural resources is no more a mere option, where Quebec’s rivers are among the most coveted sources of renewable energy and, by extension, in which the least expensive way of producing energy is through the engineering of our rivers and streams, the densification of our territory’s energy infrastructures is clearly to have a significant impact on the water network of the province.

Despite the numerous issues surrounding the thousands of miles of power lines striping forests and splitting natural wildlife habitats, or dam projects altering the natural course of rivers built at a loss in the sake of "development", the expansion of these hydroelectric giants continues still to this day. The fact is that hydroelectricity remains one of the least damaging sources of energy. But when the source and demand of energy are so far apart, how can we really be aware of the impact we have on such a vast expanse?

Yet, we are far from alone to populate it.

Alternative current (AC) is a periodic electric current that changes direction twise per cycle and which carries alternately equal amounts of electricity in both directions.

Although some are too far away to truly grasp the urgency at hand, others have witnessed the decay of heir ancestral lands through the last hundred years of hydroelectricity development. Adopting a post-colonial approach, is it possible to establish better ways of coexisting? Equitable ways that would allow for resources to be shared according to the territorial values of each stakeholders?

Natural and technological infrastructures are now dangerously disconnected. Rivers are eternal and echnologies are ehemeral. When the sound of the streams is to be invaded by the rumble of our presence, what will be left of our "natural heritage" ?