Despite Brazil's devastating loss to Germany in the World Cup semi-final, Brazil still has a chance to be a world champion in clean and renewable energy rather than continuing to rely on destructive and outdated hydroelectric dams like Belo Monte.
All: 2014
Brazil Spends Billions on "Green" World Cup, but Does Little to Protect Environmentalists
South American nation holds the dubious distinction of having the highest number of murders of environmental activists
Earth Island Journal | Brazil is today the most dangerous place in the world to be an environmental activist. By the end of Sunday's final match, an estimated 3.7 million people will have flocked to Brazil to support their home teams. And if statistics hold true, at least two Brazilian environmental activists will have been murdered over the course of the tournament.
Organizations Submit Amicus Brief to Brazil Court, Demonstrating That the Belo Monte Dam Is Illegal
The authorization violates national and international law because the communities affected by the project were not consulted. Construction of the dam continues, causing harms to people, communities and the ecosystem of the Brazilian Amazon.
Brasilia, Brazil – Civil society organizations submitted to the Supreme Federal Court an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief that demonstrates that the Congressional decree authorizing the controversial dam is illegal because the government didn't consult with the affected communities.
Ecuador Planned Power Plant in Yasuni National Park
Government appeared to be preparing plans at the same time as pursuing a high-profile scheme not to exploit the oil
The Guardian | Ecuador's government was moving to install a power plant to exploit oil fields under the iconic Yasuni national park at the same time as pursuing a high-profile international scheme not to exploit the oil, according to government documents seen by the Guardian.
Judge Revokes Mining License in Brazilian Amazon
Citing Belo Sun's failure to assess the impacts of its planned mega-mine on nearby indigenous communities, a federal judge rescinded the company's licenses, putting the brakes on yet another Amazon extractive industry tragedy.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Cartoon Highlights Gibson Dunn's "Legal Thuggery" On Chevron's Behalf
Latest installment of satirical cartoon series calls out Chevron's threats against those who want to hold the oil giant accountable for the mess it made in the Amazon.
MintPress | Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Mark Fiore, the satirical series was created to draw the public’s attention to the threats Chevron has leveled against environmentalists, journalists, scientists and locals who have tried to hold the company accountable for dumping 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste into rivers and streams...
Brazil Suspends Belo Sun's Gold Mine Licence
The Globe and Mail | "Belo Sun has already shown they want to do the absolute minimum to receive their license to drill and it's encouraging that the federal courts have shown they are not going to let this slide," said Christian Poirier, an activist with the organization Amazon Watch. "Clarifying that you're going to use this much arsenic or dump that much slag by...
Peru Now Has a "Licence to Kill" Environmental Protesters
Law exempts soldiers and police from criminal responsibility if they cause injuries or deaths
The Guardian | “So far only protesters have been brought to trial,” said Amnesty International in a statement marking five years since the conflict and pointing out that human rights lawyers have said there is no serious evidence linking the accused to the crimes they are being prosecuted for – which include homicide and rebellion.
Brazil Court Revokes License for Canadian Gold Mine in Amazon
Reuters | Judge Claudio Henrique de Pina said it was "unquestionable" that the mine would have a "negative and irreversible" impact on the quality of life and cultural heritage of the Paquiçamba, Arara da Volta Grande and Ituna/Itatá indigenous communities that straddle the Xingu river.
Brazil Revokes Canadian Belo Sun’s License to Gold Mine in Amazon
Mining.com | A Brazilian federal court has revoked Canadian miner Belo Sun Mining's license for the Volta Grande project, which would have become the country's largest gold mine, in the Amazonic state of Para. The ruling, which established the miner failed to assess the impact on local indigenous communities, is a major blow to Belo Sun's ambitions, said...
This World Cup Victory Goes to…
The very real "game" to keep the ball rolling for justice on the Xingú
...Brazil! Many predict Brazil will win the 2014 World Cup. But when it comes to social justice, Brazil is no winner. I say this from the perspective of a Brazilian human rights campaigner who has struggled on these "fields" with my fellow players for a long time.
"Legal Tender"
Donny Rico on how Chevron’s legal thuggery really works
At long last we bring you Episode #3 in The Adventures of Donny Rico, a clever deep dive into the methods used by Chevron in its desperate and unethical campaign to turn the tables on the very victims it poisoned in Ecuador's rainforest.
Chief Raoni Brings Indigenous Movement to World Stage
While the world watches Brazil host the global sporting spectacle, its powerful agribusiness sector is laying the groundwork for a massive land grab, intent on gutting indigenous rights riding a wave of racism and intolerance.
Hydropower Poses Grid Challenge for Brazil
Brazil may be too reliant on hydropower as it builds world’s 3rd biggest dam, according to US Department of Energy
RTCC | Hydropower is responsible for more than three quarters of Brazil’s electricity generation, making the present drought a topic of energy security. Notwithstanding the energy security risks, Brazil is in the process of building the world’s third biggest dam, on a tributary of the Amazon.
Will the U'was Be Forced to Threaten to Commit Mass Suicide Again?
Gas company wants to drill on indigenous people's ancestral territory in Colombia
The Guardian | "The U'wa have watched as their oil-rich neighboring territories have become centers of human rights abuses - perpetrated mostly by pro-government paramilitaries. To anyone who is watching, and particularly to the U'wa, the message is clear: Oil equals violence."
When Might = Right: How Chevron Got Out of a $19 Billion Lawsuit*
* An excellent analysis of Chevron's tactics, although the company is still liable for $9.5 billion, despite its unethical actions.
Huffington Post | Chevron has put unprecedented resources into its campaign against the Ecuadorian villagers, hiring more than 60 law firms and 2,000 legal professionals to wage a war of attrition.
Agua, No Bagua: Only Justice Will Keep the Peace
Alianza Arkana Blog | Five years have passed since the tragic events at Bagua, where 32 people lost their lives at Devil's Curve. Today, President Humala is committing the same potentially fatal mistake as his predecessor, Alan García.
World Cup Over Indigenous Rights?
"I like football, and the children in our village play it well," said legendary Kayapó Chief Raoni. "But we also have our own sport, hitting coconuts with our war clubs. If the canopy of the forest disappears, and the sun is hot, and strong winds blow – our lifestyle will also disappear."
Amazon Tribal Chief’s SOS: The White Man Is Destroying Everything
The Independent | Chief Raoni Metuktire, the Brazilian tribal leader who enlisted Sting to help save the Amazon rainforest, has accused the developed world of being intent on "destroying everything" and urged its citizens to fundamentally change the way they think.
Update: Current Situation of the U'wa Process
The U'wa people are advancing in our process of strengthening resistance in defense of culture, the Earth, the environment, rivers, mountains, air, and all of humanity.
Ecuador Breaks Its Amazon Deal
The green light to drill in one of the world's most biologically significant areas will come at an incalculable cost to Yasuní's biodiversity and the indigenous groups that live there.
The New York Times | Though the government should be held to account, the stillbirth of Yasuni-ITT is a shared failure. Mr. Correa promises to transition from fossil fuels – after the oil is gone. But that may be too late for an area as ecologically fragile and culturally sensitive as Yasuni.
On Fifth Anniversary of Bagua Massacre, State Department Cables Published on Wikileaks Reveal U.S. Role
Now, Obama Administration Seeks to Further Expand the Foreign Investor Privileges That Led to Amazon Standoff Via the Trans-Pacific Partnership Pact
Washington, DC – On the fifth anniversary of a deadly confrontation in Peru spurred by controversial policies enacted to comply with the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Amazon Watch and Public Citizen expressed extreme concern over recently revealed U.S. diplomatic cables showing the U.S. government's role in the violence that resulted...
After Government Suppression, Action Continues for Yasuní
Yesterday – on World Environment Day – the Ecuadorian government organized a rally to back its decision to drill Yasuní. Is the administration trying to give the middle finger to environmentalists and to the planet?
Oil Company Has Built "Secret" Road Deep into Yasuní National Park
The Ecologist | Ecuador's state oil company PetroAmazonas has, in secret, built a road deep into the heart of the world-famous Yasuni National Park in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, violating promises and threatening uncontacted indigenous tribes.
The World Cup Exposes Brazil's Injustices
On June 12th the World Cup kicks off in Brazil; the country has been beset by protest in the run up to the tournament.
Huffington Post | At first glance the inhabitants of Brazil's favelas and the indigenous people of the Amazon may not seem to have a common cause. But both groups face violence with impunity, poverty, land insecurity, and neglect.
No Justice for Amazon Massacre in Peru
Trial marks five-year anniversary of Bagua tragedy
Five years ago today the Devil's Curve earned its name, as the highway near Bagua went from peaceful protest site to national tragedy. When the teargas and gunsmoke cleared, 34 people were dead and hundreds more wounded.
Five Years Later: We Will Never Forget Bagua
NO to the Criminalization of Indigenous Peoples, Guardians of the Amazon
Santa Catalina (Lima), Perú – This Thursday, June 5th 2014, marks five years since 33 Peruvians died, one disappeared, and more than 200 were injured in Bagua (at the "Devil's Curve" and oil Pumping Station 6) in a confrontation that shouldn't have happened. That date marks an important milestone in the history of Amazonian indigenous...
Is This the Ecuador Government's Way of Mocking the UN?
Huffington Post | There was a reason Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, chose to announce his support for an initiative to forgo exploiting the oil fields under the Yasuní National Park – home to indigenous peoples and one of the most biodiverse places on earth – on 5 June 2007: 5 June, today, is the United Nations' "World Environment Day."
Show's Over: The Fiction of Pluspetrol's Benevolence
Alianza Arkana Blog | In 2013, after decades of protests by the indigenous populations, government testing finally confirmed the devastating contamination of hydrocarbons and other toxic elements in the soil and water of four major river basins.
