We Speak For Earth

goleh-yas:

climateadaptation:

The costs of growing populations. One of the toughest environmental arguments to make. Do you side with 23 million people who need electricity, or do you side with 20,000 indigenous people and a sliver of the Amazon rainforest and all its riches? Should they turn to nuclear power, and if so, how to pay for, monitor, and maintain it?

The proposed Belo Monte Dam in northern Brazil would be the third largest hydro-electric dam in the world in terms of electrical output. The dam would be 3.75 miles long and generate over 11,000 megawatts, which could power up to 23 million homes. Government officials say that the dam is an essential step in supplying energy to the nation’s growing population. However, the project is rife with environmental conflicts. The project requires the clearing of 588 acres of Amazon jungle, the displacement of over 20,000 indigenous people, flooding a 193 square mile area, and drying up a 62 mile stretch of the Xingu River.

More here.

See also Al Jazeera’s comprehensive article on the dam, here. 

The Amazon Rainforest is a cornucopia of biodiversity. It contains:

• 40-75% of the world’s organisms. It is estimated that 137 rainforest species go extinct everyday. Many of these are endemic (unique to this location). I’ve worked with professors who have discovered new species in the rainforest. This sort of life is invaluable
• a plethora of research opportunities related to advances in evolutionary, genetic, molecular, and ecological biology, as well as chemistry, environmental science, geology, atmospheric science, amongst others
• 120 prescription drugs sold on the market today, and the numerous other potential drugs
• 2/3 of the cancer-fighting drugs on the market today
• the treatments for many communicable diseases, eg. malaria, dysentery, tuberculosis
• the treatments for many non-communicable diseases, eg. muscle tension, arthritis, heart disease
• quotidian medicines such as laxatives, hormones, steroids, cough mixtures, antibiotics, etc.

The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is really a non-negotiable point.

[source 1], [source2] 

(via i---i)