Chile

Our partners at Ecosistemas are getting close to launching the Patagonia Sin Represas music album, with songs written and created by Chilean and international artists specifically for the campaign to protect Patagonia from massive hydroelectric development.  The following video features the Chilean hip hop act Legua York, with their song El Agua Cortá. Turn up the volume and enjoy!  Legua York on Myspace UPDATE! Download the Voces X Patagonia album at the portaldisc.com website, it is free and downloadable on the web!

New design plans for San Pedro project that were approved without environmental review The Chilean energy company Colbún, controlled by the Matte Group and partner with Endesa in the HidroAysén mega-project, has initiated blasting at the site on the San Pedro River where they intend to build a 144 MW dam. The dam would flood more than 12 kilometers of a river winding through rare Valdivian Temperate Rainforest, putting a unique fish species on the extinction chopping block--as well as irrevocably changing the local communities chosen economic pursuits. It is important to remember that this

Michelle Bachelet will complete her presidential term in March 2010 For those who follow hydroelectric development issues in the Américas, it is newsworthy that Chilean President Michelle Bachelet made a trip to North America this week. On Tuesday, June 23, President Bachelet was in Washington DC, where she met briefly with United States President Barack Obama, before attending the signing of a well received memorandum of cooperation on renewable energies between the US Dept of Energy and Chile’s Ministry of Energy. While Ms. Bachelet raved about the 19 billion dollars worth of annual tra

Atlanta, Georgia, is the corporate headquarters of The Home Depot, the second largest retailer in the United States. Home Depot is also the company that continues to traffic in wood products manufactured by Chilean economic interests that promote the damming of pristine river ecosystems in Chile’s Patagonia. Last week the annual shareholders meeting of The Home Depot took place in Atlanta, and International Rivers was in attendance. After more than a year without a reasonable response to our communications concerning The Home Depot’s connection to the Patagonia Dam controvers

Pointing Out Matte Group (CMPC) Brand in Home Depot Actions The Home Depot is feeling the pressure of our campaign, so much so that they have taken to responding to Patagonia Campaign supporters that have sent them email actions and postcards. In these responses, and on their website, The Home Depot has continued to present misleading information. Here are a few examples of The Home Depot Myths, compared with The Patagonia Dam Facts. The Home Depot Myth: Their suppliers hold only a small minority stake in the companies involved in the project. The Patagonia Dam Fact: The main Chilean partn

The Endangered Wilderness of the Pascua The high risks and high costs of the proposal to exploit one of the worlds most treasured wild places for unnecessary energy development are coming clear. While the owners of the Patagonia Dam scheme known as HidroAysén busily attempt to convince investors, associated business partners, and the public at large that their primitive energy project is moving forth as planned, their own recent communications with the international press state that the project is being delayed by the volcanic nature of the Patagonia region. In an article published by Reut

Río Ibañez International Day of Action Against Dams Event I am back in the Berkeley office of International Rivers after an exceptionally quick trip to Chile, including a whirlwind tour down to the Aysén Region of Patagonia. This trip was a productive and intense round of fact finding, meetings with partners, and media outreach--not to mention a chance to participate in a wonderful International Day of Action event. Amongst all the things I have brought home with me, including vivid memories of the blue vivid force of the Baker and some great conversations with local people, what I