Should the Belo Monte Dam be built in Para, Brazil?

1. Should the Belo Monte Dam be built in Para, Brazil?

2. A message from Pandora • http://vimeo.com/28181753

3. Belo Monte Dam: Do the economic benefits outweigh the social and environmental costs? The Belo Monte Dam is a proposed hydroelectric dam complex on the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil. The planned installed capacity of the dam complex would be 11,233 Megawatts (MW), which would make it the second-largest hydroelectric dam complex in Brazil, and the world's third-largest in installed capacity, behind Three Gorges Dam (China) and Itaipu Dam (Brazil-Paraguay). Electricity from the dams would presumably power the extraction and refinery of large mineral deposits in Pará, such as bauxite, the raw material for aluminum. However, there is some opposition to the dams' construction regarding their impacts to the region's environment.

5. Environmental and social change in the Amazon • http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2011/sep/29/belo-monte-dam-braziil-amazon?intcmp=239 • http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=belo+monte+dam+fish&view=detail&id=9AF243F0C44F536D4F65AE10AC3FF5CD540D21E9&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR Sigourney Weaver – Against the dam

6. 2012 BELO MONTE CONFERENCE – SHOULD THE DAM BE BUILT?

7. James Cameron, Avatar cast and crew and other celebs

8. Indigenous groups

9. Amazon Watch

10. Dam Builders and Miners

11. Brazilian Government

12. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/29/brazilian-judge-monte-bello-dam?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 - Dam halted Sept 2011 • http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/01/brazil-belo-monte-dam - Environment agency allows Dam June 2011 • http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/18/avatar-james-cameron-brazil-dam?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 Apr 2010 James Cameron • http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/02/brazil-amazon-rainforest-hydroelectric-dam Indigenous people and environment to be harmed by dam Feb 2010 • http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/aug/23/brazil-amazon-electricity Harm to tribes Aug 2009

13. Questions 8CN • Amazon watch to miners: have you ever actually talked to an Indian? • Celeb to miners: why would you want dam that will wash minerals away- trees give minerals? • Indigenous to Govt: why is ok to destroy our home when we have had no impact • Govt to celeb: why do you care? • AW to indigenous: how do you feel about this? • Miners to indigenous: why stop construction if it creates jobs/ build economy • Indigenous to govt: do you want to live with no diversity? • Govt to indigenous: what is wrong with a new beginning? • Celeb to govt: why cant you use other renewable resources? • Celeb to govt: the govt is meant to be with the people? • Celeb to miners: why cant you mine somewhere else or get materials elsewhere? • Indigenous to miner: Our life is river yours in minerals- why are going to take away your own life along with ours?

14. Questions • Celebrities to miners - how is it going to provide energy for the Olympics if it isn’t going to be started until 2015? • Celebs to government – meant to be for the people but almost all of the people are against it • Miners to Indigenous - the fish can be moved downstream • Amazon Watch to Miners you can recycle aluminum and tin you don’t need to mine more • Amazon W to Government – where will the indigenous go? • Government to Amazon watch/indig/celebs – 23 million people with energy – only 1% of people affected • Indigenous people to miners 70% will go to households/30% to industry – olympics – where will the extra energy come from?

15. Questions From the government to James Cameron “James how do we know that your involvement with this was not just a publicity stunt for your movie Avatar?” Amazon Watch to the government “ Where will the indigenous people live after the dam is built?” Celebs to government Is it worth destroying the biodiversity of the Amazon to provide power for 23 million people? Miners to celebs “The dam will provide jobs for the village people” Indigenous to government “Why have you not been open about the project?” Government to Amazon Watch/Celebs “You said the building of the dam would contribute to global warming. However, China and the USA contribute much more, what do you have to say about that?” Amazon watch to government? “How do you feel about the environmental consequences of the dam?” Celebs to miners “Is it worth displacing 40,000 people for only 16,000 temp jobs and 2,000 permanent ones?” Amazon watch to miners “How do you feel about the displacement of all of these people. What do you expect them to do?”

16. Dam Builders and Industrialists • http://www.brazil.org.uk/environment/belomonte.html - benefits • http://www.alcoa.com/brazil/en/news/whats_new/2005_11_30.asp?initSection=1000 – mining company • http://www.alcoa.com/brazil/en/news/whats_new/2005_11_30.asp?initSection=1000# - Alcoa mining company • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium - aluminium • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauxite - Bauxite • http://www.khl.com/magazines/international-construction/detail/item55847/Norte-Energia-consortium-awarded-Belo-Monte-contract/ - Norte Energia building contract

17. Indigenous • http://amazonwatch.org/work/xingu-river-and-its-people - peoples • http://www.survivalinternational.org/about/belo-monte-dam - uncontacted people

18. General info • http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/8287289/Brazils-Belo-Monte-dam-a-history-of-celebrity-opposition.html - RECENT NEWS ARTICLE DAM OPPOSITION • http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/zachary-hurwitz/2011-1-13/ibama-president-resigns-over-belo-monte-licensing - MINISTERS RESIGN OVER DAM • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11674234 - good overview and sustainability