HELP STOP THE BULLDOZING AND FLOODING OF THE AMAZON! EMERGENCY ACTION NEEDED NOW!
Joseph Raglione
January 18, 2011
Gentle readers of this American Chronicle, if there ever was a time to step up to the plate and scream bloody murder, this is the time! The Amazon Rain Forest is vital if we want to sustain the Oxygen supply on this Planet, and it is being threatened! If we allow them to destroy the Amazon it will greatly accelerate global warming past the point of no return, for any of us! I am seriously talking about mass extinction and death for all of us, and sooner than predicted. I am no longer being polite about this, our lives are at stake and there is more than enough evidence to prove how and why and who is creating the danger!
Dear friends,
Brazil's top environmental regulator resigned last week under pressure to allow the hugely destructive Belo Monte Dam Complex, which would scar the Amazon and displace thousands of people. Protect the Amazon, its people, and its species -- sign the petition to Brazil's President Dilma opposing the dam and calling for energy efficiency instead:
Last Wednesday, Brazil's top environmental regulator resigned in refusal to license a project that experts say would be an ecological disaster: the Belo Monte Dam Complex, which would carve a scar bigger than the Panama Canal into the heart of the Amazon.
The mega-dam would flood huge tracts of rainforest and displace thousands of indigenous people. The companies who would profit from the dam have been trying to bulldoze past environmental laws -- and want to break ground within weeks.
The Amazon is a global treasure, and a worldwide outcry is needed now. The resignation could clear the way for the dam's license--or, if enough of us raise our voices, it could mark a turning point against the project. Let's make this a defining moment on the world stage for Brazil's new President Dilma. Sign the emergency petition to Dilma to stop Belo Monte and protect the Amazon -- it will be delivered spectacularly with Avaaz's indigenous partners in Brazil's capital, let's get 300,000 signatures:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/amazon_under_threat/?vl
Eletronorte, the company who will profit most from Belo Monte, is demanding that the license to start construction be issued even if the project does not meet environmental standards.
Experts and officials who study the proposed dam overwhelmingly reject it as a catastrophe in the making. Abelardo Bayma Azevedo, who stepped down last week as president of Brazil's environmental agency, is not the first resignation caused by pressure to allow Belo Monte; his predecessor stepped down for the same reason last year, as did Brazil's Minister for the Environment -- among other top officials. Now, it's up to us to ensure that these resignations, and decades of protest within Brazil, will not be in vain.
Belo Monte would flood at least 400,000 acres of rainforest, affect hundreds of kilometres of the Xingu river, and displace over 40,000 people, including indigenous communities of 18 different ethnic groups who depend on the Xingu for their subsistence. It is so economically risky that the government has had to turn to public funds for most of the $16 billion investment. And the dam would be one of Brazil's least efficient, operating at only 10% capacity for the dry months from July to October.
The dam's backers argue that it will supply Brazil's growing energy needs. But a far greater, greener, and cheaper supply of energy is available: energy efficiency. A WWF study found that efficiency alone could save the equivalent of 14 Belo Monte dams by 2020. The benefits of a truly green approach would go to everyone, rather than a handful of powerful corporations. But it's only the corporations who hire lobbyists and wield political muscle -- unless enough of us, in the global public, raise our voices, and ensure that Dilma faces a real choice for Brazil's future.
Belo Monte's construction could start as early as February. Brazil's Minister of Energy and Mining, Edson Lobão, says the next license will be approved soon -- we need to stop Belo Monte before the bulldozers move in. Letīs welcome Dilma into the presidency with a massive outcry to do the right thing: stop Belo Monte!
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/amazon_under_threat/?vl
Brazil might be the world's best hope for progress against climate change, and for bringing North and South countries together on the most hopeful common ground. Now, that hope resides in President Dilma. By calling together for her to reject the Belo Monte dam and pursue a better path, we invite her to live up to that opportunity -- and to help build a future that all of us, from the tribes along the Xingu to the grandchildren of today's city dwellers, can be proud of.
With hope,
Ben, Graziela, Alice, Ricken, Rewan, and the whole Avaaz.org team
SOURCES:
IBAMA President Resigns Over Belo Monte Licensing:
http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/zachary-hurwitz/2011-1-13/ibama-president-resigns-over-belo-monte-licensing
PowerSwitch report by WWF-Brazil examining opportunities for energy efficiency:
http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/brazil_pswstudy_english_summary_0.pdf
Amazon Watch fact sheet:
http://www.amazonwatch.org/amazon/BR/bmd/index.php?page_number=99
Power and the Xingu:
http://www.economist.com/node/15954573
Support the Avaaz community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.
Avaaz.org is a 6.5-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
This message was sent to human4us@sympatico.ca. To change your email address, language, or other information, contact us via this form -- or simply click here to unsubscribe.
To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).
Dear friends,
Brazil's top environmental regulator resigned last week under pressure to allow the hugely destructive Belo Monte Dam Complex, which would scar the Amazon and displace thousands of people. Protect the Amazon, its people, and its species -- sign the petition to Brazil's President Dilma opposing the dam and calling for energy efficiency instead:
Last Wednesday, Brazil's top environmental regulator resigned in refusal to license a project that experts say would be an ecological disaster: the Belo Monte Dam Complex, which would carve a scar bigger than the Panama Canal into the heart of the Amazon.
The mega-dam would flood huge tracts of rainforest and displace thousands of indigenous people. The companies who would profit from the dam have been trying to bulldoze past environmental laws -- and want to break ground within weeks.
The Amazon is a global treasure, and a worldwide outcry is needed now. The resignation could clear the way for the dam's license--or, if enough of us raise our voices, it could mark a turning point against the project. Let's make this a defining moment on the world stage for Brazil's new President Dilma. Sign the emergency petition to Dilma to stop Belo Monte and protect the Amazon -- it will be delivered spectacularly with Avaaz's indigenous partners in Brazil's capital, let's get 300,000 signatures:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/amazon_under_threat/?vl
Eletronorte, the company who will profit most from Belo Monte, is demanding that the license to start construction be issued even if the project does not meet environmental standards.
Experts and officials who study the proposed dam overwhelmingly reject it as a catastrophe in the making. Abelardo Bayma Azevedo, who stepped down last week as president of Brazil's environmental agency, is not the first resignation caused by pressure to allow Belo Monte; his predecessor stepped down for the same reason last year, as did Brazil's Minister for the Environment -- among other top officials. Now, it's up to us to ensure that these resignations, and decades of protest within Brazil, will not be in vain.
Belo Monte would flood at least 400,000 acres of rainforest, affect hundreds of kilometres of the Xingu river, and displace over 40,000 people, including indigenous communities of 18 different ethnic groups who depend on the Xingu for their subsistence. It is so economically risky that the government has had to turn to public funds for most of the $16 billion investment. And the dam would be one of Brazil's least efficient, operating at only 10% capacity for the dry months from July to October.
The dam's backers argue that it will supply Brazil's growing energy needs. But a far greater, greener, and cheaper supply of energy is available: energy efficiency. A WWF study found that efficiency alone could save the equivalent of 14 Belo Monte dams by 2020. The benefits of a truly green approach would go to everyone, rather than a handful of powerful corporations. But it's only the corporations who hire lobbyists and wield political muscle -- unless enough of us, in the global public, raise our voices, and ensure that Dilma faces a real choice for Brazil's future.
Belo Monte's construction could start as early as February. Brazil's Minister of Energy and Mining, Edson Lobão, says the next license will be approved soon -- we need to stop Belo Monte before the bulldozers move in. Letīs welcome Dilma into the presidency with a massive outcry to do the right thing: stop Belo Monte!
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/amazon_under_threat/?vl
Brazil might be the world's best hope for progress against climate change, and for bringing North and South countries together on the most hopeful common ground. Now, that hope resides in President Dilma. By calling together for her to reject the Belo Monte dam and pursue a better path, we invite her to live up to that opportunity -- and to help build a future that all of us, from the tribes along the Xingu to the grandchildren of today's city dwellers, can be proud of.
With hope,
Ben, Graziela, Alice, Ricken, Rewan, and the whole Avaaz.org team
SOURCES:
IBAMA President Resigns Over Belo Monte Licensing:
http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/zachary-hurwitz/2011-1-13/ibama-president-resigns-over-belo-monte-licensing
PowerSwitch report by WWF-Brazil examining opportunities for energy efficiency:
http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/brazil_pswstudy_english_summary_0.pdf
Amazon Watch fact sheet:
http://www.amazonwatch.org/amazon/BR/bmd/index.php?page_number=99
Power and the Xingu:
http://www.economist.com/node/15954573
Support the Avaaz community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.
Avaaz.org is a 6.5-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
This message was sent to human4us@sympatico.ca. To change your email address, language, or other information, contact us via this form -- or simply click here to unsubscribe.
To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).
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