Stop Belo Monte—No Mega-Dam in the Amazon
APPEALS, 7 Feb 2011
Antonio C. S. Rosa, TMS Editor – TRANSCEND Media Service
Belo Monte would be a project bigger than the Panama Canal, flooding at least 400,000 acres of rainforest, displacing 40,000 indigenous and local people, and destroying the priceless habitats of countless unique species — all to create power that could easily be generated through investments in energy efficiency.
Pressure on President Dilma against the dam is rising, the President of Brazil’s Environmental Agency just resigned, refusing to issue Belo Monte a construction license and challenging strong political pressure to go forward with this disastrous project. Environmental specialists, indigenous leaders and civil society agree that Belo Monte will be a massive environmental scar in the heart of the Amazon.
Construction could start next month – let’s raise the pressure on President Dilma to stop this dam! Sign the petition now, before the bulldozers move in — it will be delivered to Brasilia!
Erwin Kräutler (Brazil, 2010) received the Right Livelihood Award “for his tireless efforts to save the Amazon forest from destruction” and lives with death threats for his fight to stop the Belo Monte dam construction. He calls the dam project sheer lunacy, as the social and environmental impact is incalculable.
To President Dilma Rousseff:
We urge you to stop development of the Belo Monte Dam Complex. Instead of this environmentally, socially, and economically disastrous project, please invest in energy efficiency and clean power sources, protect the basic human rights of indigenous people and local communities, and support sustainable development that protects lives and ecosystems.
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION – secure.avaaz.org
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 7 Feb 2011.
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DO NOT LET BELO MONTE DAM DESTROY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES HOMES AND LIVES!!! A DAM IS NOT THE WAY TO GO- IT WILL DESTROY THE NATIVE PEOPLES LIVES!!!