We are proud to announce the launch of our redesigned website. On behalf of all of us here at International Rivers, welcome! With this design we will be able to take advantage of the most current tools to make our advocacy most effective.
Job title:
Former Web Producer
Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012 - 20:44
We had a great time at the Marsh on March 14th, sharing food and drink with new friends and old.Guests joined me in the photo booth to get their photograph taken with protest signs, costumes, and sometimes standing next to our friend Flo, a human sized rainbow trout.Take a look at the photos from the event below. They are sure to put a smile on your face.
Date: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 10:52
Reports keep rolling in from actions all over the world, and there are more to come. Media coverage is starting to show up as well, and this year's International Day of Action Against Dams and For Rivers, Water and Life looks like it will be a huge success.The Guardian posted a slideshow this morning in honor of the Day of Action For Rivers titled, "Controversial dam projects – in pictures," a retrospective of the world's most contentious dam projects. It features projects such as Three Gorges, Belo Monte and other destructive dams. Click on the image below to view the slideshow:
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 14:40
Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre stops construction at Belo Monte's Pimental work siteIn the first days of the New Year, Brazilian contractors quietly started blockading the Xingu River to allow construction to start on the massive Belo Monte Dam. Often called the "Pandora Dam" by mainstream media because of James Cameron’s support for the struggle against it, the hydroelectric project could become the world’s third largest. While construction had started on roads and associated works several months ago, the building of coffer dams to divert the flow of the river started during the Brazillian new year holiday, presumably to sidestep the scrutiny of civil society, NGOs and regional activists. But escape scrutiny it did not.
Date: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - 13:22
Lori Pottinger and I recently spoke with Samir Mehta, South Asia Program Director about the issues facing the region. The video I filmed and edited shows that the Himalayas and the entire region are indeed threatened by dam building and climate change. Samir explains how social movements are adapting to work against dam building, shifting from dam-centric opposition to protecting and conserving entire rivers.
Date: Thursday, October 6, 2011 - 12:56
Tang Hpre near the Irrawaddy Myitsone dam construction site, BurmaThe cancellation of the Myitsone dam project has grabbed international headlines this week, the decision prompted by the new president, Thein Sein. The president said that the dam was against the will of the people, according to The Economist. This a good sign for Burmese civil society and local communities. Will this victory be a new chapter for local partner groups in Burma? The following ABC News interview with International Rivers campaigner Pianporn Deetes, goes into greater detail.
Date: Thursday, July 7, 2011 - 11:14
Dams can be major generators of greenhouse gases, but many people are unaware just how much global warming impact they can have. For the uninitiated, the concept may seem far-fetched. Surely dams can't be bigger generators of greenhouse gases than...a coal burning power plant?!Check out the following infographic to learn how dams cause the planet to get hotter.
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 - 11:09
Mekong Protest Makes Local Headlines A flurry of press coverage ensued after an April 17 report by the Bankok Post that construction had begun on the Xayaburi Dam "on [the] sly." Shortly thereafter The Associated Press picked it up. The New York Times also reported on the construction. Voice of America reported that a US Senator has expressed disapproval over the construction and the soon after the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a piece that further informed US audiences.Reuters published a Q&A about the main issues with Xayaburi, reiterating – among other things – that a proper Environmental Impact Assessment was not done. Miranda Leitsinger of MSNBC wrote a thorough assessment on the risks the Mekong faces, along with the news that Vietnam supports a 10 year moratorium on the project. The Financial Times issued the announcement that the official decision was going to be delayed, and UPI reported on the WWF's support of the 10 year moratorium.
Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - 17:19
Patagonia Rising gives an excellent perspective on the issue of Chilean dams being built in Patagonia. Through personal interviews and lush footage of natural landscapes, Patagonia Rising documents the struggle of mostly poor and rural people, fighting the development of the HidroAysén dam project.
Date: Friday, February 4, 2011 - 12:05
When I check Twitter in the morning, do I expect to see updates on hydroelectric projects? Certainly! But would I ever expect to see this?Water levels rising, OMG, better open the gatesMakin' electricity, makin' electricity, makin' electricity@IntlRivers Hmph. I have never emitted a greenhouse anything!If the Hoover Dam had internet access, you might see something like this in its Twitter feed. For this I am glad the dam is not connected – but frequent and boring tweets are not the only reason.Ridiculous as my facetious example may seem, backers of a new bill introduced by the U.S. Congress (S.21) are using anecdotes not too dissimilar to argue that an "internet kill-switch" should be created to protect the nation's infrastructure – such as the Hoover Dam – against "cyber attack."
Date: Monday, January 31, 2011 - 13:56
Take a look at this great talk by energy efficiency expert Saul Griffith, given at PopTech in 2008. Though it is a few years old, the video is still relevant – it walks you through an audit of Saul's home energy use and the results are surprising. Even someone as well versed in energy efficiency as Saul Griffith uses eight times more power than a person living in the Global South.
Date: Friday, November 12, 2010 - 14:16
The following is a guest blog written by Kate Ross, Intern Extraordinaire On Wednesday November 10th, 2010 more than 1,000 pairs of eyes were pointed towards Jalisco, Mexico. Reaching across tens of thousands of miles, the voices of those in Kenya, Turkey, Australia, Canada and Brazil could be heard together in one cry: No to the Zapotillo Dam. Friends from Rivers for Life 3, who spent a memorable October week in Temacapulín joined hands and hearts in solidarity with the community of Temaca on Wednesday. Many went to protest at the Mexican Embassy in their cities, others sent letters directly to the government expressing their concern and calling for a stop to the project. Videos, photos and articles with messages of strength and support for the communities of Temaca, Acasico and Palmarejo are still being created and circulated.
Date: Friday, November 5, 2010 - 09:30
Radio Building in TemacaThe stories about Rivers for Life 3 keep cranking off of printing presses and flashing across computer screens. One thing is clear: the meeting made a big impact on many peoples' lives.Many excellent videos have been posted, due to the prevalence of technology at the meeting. The following is a RIvers for Life 3 YouTube playlist, with the newest videos first.
Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2010 - 12:10
Ian Elwood filming from the top of the basilica in TemacaWalking the streets of Temacapulín with video camera in hand, a heavy burden began to settle on me. Everything I was seeing - the lively plaza, colorful houses, beautiful old stone church, and even the cemetery in the hills above town - would be hundreds of feet under water if El Zapotillo Dam is built. Knowing that whole towns are routinely drowned for big dams and seeing it in person are two completely different things. This was the first time I had been in a place slated to be walled off behind a huge wall of concrete and flooded for all time. The experience is almost impossible to simulate, but I hope by seeing this short film you will see Temacapulín as I did: a beautiful place - worn by history and the sun - loved by the people who call it home.Watch "Voices From Temacapulin" in fullscreen HD Then learn how you can help save Temaca
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - 14:30
Two-Way Radios and Painting TilesAt Rivers for Life 3, the people of Temacapulín were empowered to share their perspective and to organize against the threat of El Zapatillo Dam. As a participant at Rivers for Life 3, I witnessed how access to media and technology aided in this empowerment. Many times and in many languages we heard the refrain, "the Eyes of the World are on Temaca." As a technologist and media producer, my eyes tend to see the ways that our movement adapts and changes as new tools make us more visible and effective as actors on the world stage.
Date: Thursday, September 23, 2010 - 11:05
Aviva Imhof, International Rivers Campaigns Director, spoke at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee Hearing on Challenges to Water and Security in Southeast Asia on September 23, 2010. She spoke about hydropower development on the Mekong River basin, and how development must be studied closely in order to avoid negative social and environmental impacts.Watch the archived video testimony.
Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - 13:10
1% For The Planet (1% FTP) is a corporate philanthropy network co-founded by Yvon Chouinard, of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. The goal of the 1% FTP is to support environmental nonprofits through corporate giving, with each member organization pledging 1% of its annual profits. The network now has over 1,200 members and its model was praised by Fast Company as the "philanthropic gold standard."Take a look at the video and tell us what you think in the comments section below. What if all corporations donated 1% of their profits to environmental causes? Should an environment tax such as this be mandatory? How much is the planet worth? Is one percent enough?
Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 - 11:47
Thank you to everyone for making the Wild River Dance contest a success! And now...The WinnersMira Manickam is our first place winner! She recruited dancers from 15 locations across the United States. Her video features an original rap, beat track and samples with choreographed and coordinated dance moves that people in each different location learned through a video tutorial on YouTube. Amazing! River Rap(ids) from Mira Manickam on Vimeo.
Date: Thursday, April 29, 2010 - 19:31
Wild River Dance from Australia
Date: Monday, February 22, 2010 - 12:20
Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts by taking our website user survey. The results were amazingly positive. We appreciated getting an honest assessment from our readers, users and viewers (you)!
Eighty-one people filled out the survey and what little criticism we received was helpful and constructive. Here are some notable responses:
"I follow[ed] International Rivers' work since last year, and I like it very much."
Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 09:20
Google China Logo
Being an activist who works in China may have gotten a lot harder
in the past few weeks. Google and twenty other large US based
companies were hit by a sophisticated
cyber-attack that originated from within China in December,
making the company question its policies about doing business there.
What is of concern to our readers is that the attackers were
attempting to get information on Chinese human rights activists.
While the attacks were unsuccessful it still brings up a familiar
theme to those advocating on behalf of the poor and marginalized --
questioning the status quo is not always popular.
Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - 12:13
Today I received an email asking to use our video We All Live Downstream as the opening video for a University of Nevada sponsored youth video contest -- of course I said yes. The contest entrants are in the age range from 7th to 12th grade, and their short videos feature the Carson River Watershed.
As International Rivers has come to use video and other multimedia more in recent years, it is nice to see the next generation of river protectors taking up the cause.
Take a look at a few of their videos and vote on your favorite. The winner gets five hundred dollars, not a bad prize for a high school student!
Ian Elwood is the Web Producer for International Rivers, he blogs at:
internationalrivers.org/en/blog/ian-elwood
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 15:12
International Rivers climate scientist Payal Parekh was interviewed about climate change on the Reuters blog today from Copenhagen. Take a look at the whole story on Reuters.com.
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 15:20
Check out another Patagonia related event on October 14th at our new home, the David Brower Center.
Attending will be Conservacion Patagonica President and former
Patagonia Inc. CEO Kristine M. Tompkins. Also in attendance will be President of the Conservation Land Trust, Douglas R. Tompkins.
Details below...
Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 14:09
Bay Area Independent film makers Brian Lilla, Scott Douglas and Greg Miller are fundraising to complete a documentary that covers the a proposed dam project in Patagonia and local reactions to its impact. From the video description, "Shot in January 2009, this video captures the people, water and mountains of Patagonia's pristine Rio Baker. A mega hydroelectric scheme threatens this vital corridor and Patagonia’s future hangs in the balance. The documentary Patagonia Rising is investigating the hopeful solutions to Chile's energy future while addressing the global need for clean water and free flowing rivers."
Support the cause to protect Patagonia's rivers on Facebook, or attend the fundraiser. Here is the trailer:
Ian Elwood is the Web Producer for International Rivers, he blogs at:
internationalrivers.org/en/blog/ian-elwood
