They're going after the Amazon now. Here's where you can begin to get educated or follow the links to let your opinion be known to the Brazilian government.

Stop Belo Monte Dam!

Last week the Brazilian government approved the environmental license for the controversial Belo Monte Dam in the Amazon.

The dam, slated to be the world’s third largest hydroelectric project, would devastate an extensive area of the Amazon rainforest, and threaten the survival of indigenous and traditional peoples. Construction could begin this year.

The decision has caused a national and international outcry. Right now, more than 5,000 Kayapo Indians are traveling to the Big Bend of the Xingu River to set up a protest camp to prevent dam construction. They are threatening war.

Studies have shown that by investing in energy efficiency, Brazil could cut demand for electricity by 40% by 2020 and save $19 billion in the process. The amount of energy saved would be equivalent to 14 Belo Monte dams!

New science indicates that Chagas infection in humans is at least 4500 years old if not 9000, and that infection occurred before domicilization of triatomine insects. Two types of T. cruzi display distinct characteristics and may one type appears to be transmitted orally, resulting in severe disease in children.
( notes from a letter to the editor by several Brazilian docs of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de JaneiroCollapse )