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Tenotã–mõ Executive Summary

Oswaldo Sevá

Alerts regarding the consequences of hydroelectric projects planned for the Xingu River, Brazilian Amazon

Publication of the panel of experts on the Xingu hydroelectric complex, May 2005

Executive Summary

1. Summary of the plans for hydroelectric dams on the Xingu River

An obsession of global engineering is the fixed idea to dam all rivers that have significant hydroelectric potential. Within this vision, rivers are no longer viewed as living flows of water, bio–chemical media which maintain life in equilibrium, including the lives of riverbank dwellers and migratory animals. Instead, rivers are examined using calculators, as if they only existed to be blocked by a giant wall to have their energy exploited.

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Belo Monte Dam and the Hydro Development of the Xingu

Phillip M. Fearnside (2006) "Dams in the Amazon: Belo Monte and Brazil's Hydroelectric Development of the Xingu River Basin," Environmental Management 38:1.

 

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Brazilian Mining Giant Vale Voted Worst Corporation in the World

Amazon Watch, International Rivers


Company wins prize for leading share in the Belo Monte Dam

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Mining Giant Joins Belo Monte Dam

Mon, 05/02/2011 - 1:23pm
By: 
Zachary Hurwitz
Vale's Amazon blemish. An aerial view of the Carajás mines. (infoescola.com)

Vale's Amazon blemish. An aerial view of the Carajás mines. (infoescola.com)

The world's second-largest mining corporation, Vale, has stepped into one of the world's most controversial dams: Belo Monte. With its new share in the dam, Vale – and the Brazilian government – are banking on the hope that the electricity from so-called "clean" dams can power Brazil's continued export of commodities to China. In the case of the Amazon, Belo Monte may help power a record expansion of dirty mining. In so many ways, a nightmare "Avatar" scenario is ever closer to reality.

Become An Aluminum Scrooge for the World's Rivers

Wed, 12/22/2010 - 3:39pm
By: 
Lori Pottinger

Please, ma’am, just put down the aluminum foil and no one gets hurt.

Scrooge

Scrooge

It’s a little known fact that this simple kitchen product has a Dickensian dark side. So as you serve your guests canned beverages, “tent” your turkey, cover the yams, or wrap leftovers at the end of the party, keep in mind that the aluminum products you’re using have their roots in a dirty industry – one that frankly deserves a lump of coal in its stocking for how it’s mistreating the planet.

The aluminum industry is the world’s largest industrial consumer of electricity, and about half of what it uses comes from hydropower dams. Aluminum companies troll the world looking for big dam projects that can power new smelters, often targeting rivers in ecologically sensitive areas in developing countries, and frequently in places where basic needs for the population’s energy are not yet being met.

NGOs Call for a Moratorium on BHP Billiton’s Congo Smelter

View this page in: Francais
Terri Hathaway

International civil society groups have called on BHP Billiton to halt its plans for a US$5 billion aluminum smelter and the associated $3.5 billion Inga 3 hydropower scheme in Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the world’s most corrupt and under-developed countries. The proposed smelter would consume 2,500 MW of electricity, more than DR Congo’s entire current power supply.

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Les ONG appellent à un moratoire sur la fonderie de BHP Billiton au RD Congo

View this page in: English
Terri Hathaway

Partout dans le monde, des organisations de la société civile appellent BHP Billiton à arrêter son projet de fonderie d’aluminium de 5 milliards de dollars et la construction associée du barrage Inga 3 pour 3,5 milliards de dollars en République Démocratique du Congo, l’un des pays les plus corrompus et pauvres du monde.

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