Brazil’s largest miner to fund destructive Amazon dam
Vale, a Brazilian mining company that frequently touts its environmental stewardship, will invest $1.4 billion in the controversial Belo Monte dam. The project will flood nearly 200 square miles (500 square kilometers) of rainforest and impact up to 50,000 indigenous people.
Some 600,000 people worldwide have signed petition opposing the dam.
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Controversial Brazilian mega-dam receives investment of $1.4 billion
(05/02/2011) Brazil’s most controversial mega-dam, Belo Monte, which is moving full steam ahead against massive opposition, has received an extra infusion of cash from Vale, a Brazilian-run mining company.
Half a million people sign petition against Belo Monte, Brazilian mega-dam
(02/08/2011) In a protest today in Brasilia, Brazil, indigenous people delivered a petition to authorities signed by 500,000 people calling on them to cancel the controversial Belo Monte dam. They hope the petition, organized by online activist group Avaaz, will help convince Brazil’s new president, Dilma Rousseff, to cancel the project. However, actions by Brazil’s first female president have pushed the dam forward.
Brazil’s environment chief resigns over controversial Amazon dam
(01/14/2011) The president of Brazil’s environmental agency IBAMA has resigned over pressure to grant a license for the Belo Monte dam, a hydroelectric project on the Xingu River that faces strong opposition from environmental groups and indigenous tribes, reports O Globo.