Belo Monte Dam Threatens Brazilian Amazon

[SilverCougar]

It is a bitter loss. The wild river that along its lengthy journey gives life to so much and so many will be tamed forever. Where I stand on the shores of the Xingu River, just a few miles from the city of Altamira, I can see the markers where the main wall of the Belo Monte dam will be built. Across the main waterway of the Xingu, 14 meters (or 46 feet) high, the dam will muzzle the flow of the river and will create a gigantic lake almost 600 square kilometers in size. When the city of New Orleans, which is roughly that size, was flooded after hurricane Katrina, the entire world shrieked in horror. As an equivalent area of Amazonian rainforest is scheduled to be flooded, barely anybody outside this area is paying attention. For over 20 years, the ploy to dam the tributaries of the Amazon has been bounced around and finally the idea of damming the Amazon's tributaries as a solution to Brazil's energy challenges has won. The walls will go up and the character of this vital ecosystem will be changed forever.

With pictures

*sighs*

[Blues Girl]

Why can't people just leave mother nature alone? We are losing our trees, our forests, our land, and the animals and plants that live on it. Such a shame.

[Eldorado]

Fantastic images but sad to view.