Brazil awarded a domestic consortium rights yesterday to build the world’s third-largest hydroelectric dam in the Amazon rainforest, the last time this happened hundreds of thousands of environmentalists, movie stars and other do-gooders landed on Brazil’s jungles to whinge, whine and moan about the possible destruction of the greatest jungle on our planet.
I still remember those days, virtually everybody jumped on the bandwagon with speeches, books and cries of “Ban the Dam” and after a short period of time in which even government pressure was placed on the banks financing the project the entire deal was killed off.
Do you remember what happened immediately after?
30 Million people living along the coast found that the long awaited jobs they were hoping for never eventuated so they moved into the jungle and started burning and slashing it in order to carve themselves a living, they are still at it.
So if any of you have any ideas about somehow complaining about this new project please remember that it is not only the poor people of Brazil that will benefit from it, so will the jungle.
I for one intend to fight anybody who tries to stop it with all my skills
Boadicea's Chariot 
Hi IS
One should always remember that not so long ago, statistically, more trees were felled in Queensland than in the Amazon.
To me the issue is not about climate change. I see this planet as one ecosystem and even the most sceptic scientists, like Clothcap for instance, are calling for more trees to be planted. Allowing a new dam to be build in one of the “green lungs” of this planet cannot be a good move. Not only is it about the construction of the dam and the flooded areas, but more so about what will happen afterwards, for if you build it they will come.
What you say about the local impoverished population is true and logic, they do have to carve out a living and one feels for them. That is what makes the discussion and execution of protecting our natural resources such a dilemma. We in the west pretend to be able to understand another countries problems, and apply our yardstick to it.
But for the sake of our future survival, all of us need to work on global strategies to protect our environment, and building dams or harvesting trees in a irresponsible manner cannot be part of that.
G’DAY Rainer – That’s the problem mate, nobody understand the Brazilian jungle like us South Americans, every body else thinks of it as something being the size of a German forest or perhaps the the size of the Alaskan Wilderness but it isn’t.
The bloody thing is the size of almost “The Entire South American Continent”
Building a dam on it wouldn’t even put a dent on the environment, it would be something along the lines of taking a glass of water out of the Indian Ocean.
The last Dam they wanted to build would have been something like comparing the town of Bluebird against the rest of Australia. A Minuscule (big word for me) issue.
Remember Dr Suzuki, the Fruit Fly expert from Canada? This was the man who led the campaign against the last dam, I attribute the collapse of that project entirely to him. I happen to know the guy, every time he comes to Australia I get an invite to his speeches. the last time at the University of Wollongong.
While most people think his campaign was one for saving the environment, in reality it made a great propaganda issue for his books in which he continually mentions how a river near his hometown where he used to go fishing as a child is now poisoned.
30 years later the damned river is still poisoned and the man hasn’t done a damned thing about it yet he thought it was alright to go to another country and tell the people there what they could or could not do with their own land.
For the sake of saving the land of 50,000 miserable Indians (who were offered TEN TIMES the amount of land they used to own) he completely neglected the needs of 30 Million impoverished people and the fact that the Amazon was about to be burnt to the ground. His campaign had nothing to do with the environment, he just used it as an excuse.
But the worst thing of all is that once they managed to collapse the project then America sold (how convenient) OIL BURNING POWER PLANTS to Brazil as “compensation” for the loss of the dam, of course, they also sell them the oil. The Polution caused by these plants has been greater that all of Australias power plants combined, and it has even surpassed the environmental damaged caused by all the slashing and burning of the jungle.
Why is this so? where does all the pollution from all these plants go? On the jungle. What do you think will happen if they don’t build this dam? Dozens more coal and oil burning power plants again spewing crap all over the jungle.
So I’ll use your last words to end this tiny little comment of mine 🙂
“But for the sake of our future survival, all of us need to work on global strategies to protect our environment”
Building this new dam is the only responsible thing to do in order to save the jungle from further burning and slashing. This would create far more damage.
Sounds like a good project I wish you well.
But it won’t solve the problem of the 30 million poor people. That will take something else.
MdO? – 🙂 If you look at all the constructions carried out deep inside the jungle plus the dirt highways that were carved right through it from east to west, plus all the mines which are being worked by children etc, that is where you will find the 30 million people plus their offspring since the 80s
Those people’s problems can only be solved by better infrastructure, better housing, better education, better health care. Cheap energy is only a small plus for them.The construction of the damn will bring a short term boost but the main beneficiries will be the managers and engineers in the big cities as well as need I say spivs in banks.So if you don’t fix the real problems all the damage done by the poor people living hand to mouth will just continue.
The world’s third largest hydroelectric dam will bring power and jobs and other benefits to millions of people. Electricity is the maker and maintainer of advanced civilizations. 🙂