Save wild Patagonia from "electrocution"‏

Tell the Chilean government to reject the HydroAisen dam project and to pursue a sustainable energy future.



Dear NRDC BioGems Defender,

A European energy company is now scheming to build massive
hydro-electric dams on every major river in Chilean Patagonia.
We need your immediate action to stop this proposed
"electrocution" of one of the wildest regions on earth.

Please urge Chile's President Bachelet to consider the
full range of alternatives before sacrificing this
world-renowned wilderness to destructive hydro-development.

Endesa-Spain's disastrous proposal would flood thousands of
acres of irreplaceable habitat for a vast array of rare wildlife
including South American deer, southern river otters and many
birds found only in Patagonia.

For the sake of its own profits, the company is claiming that
stopping up Patagonia's mighty rivers to produce electricity --
which would then be transmitted thousands of miles -- is the
only way to fuel Chile's economic growth. As part of the same
plan, Brookfield Consortium, a Canadian company, would clearcut
a 1,200-mile swath through five national parks and two
wilderness reserves to make way for the world's largest
transmission line.

But smarter alternatives to strengthening Chile's economy --
such as stricter energy efficiency standards and the use of
localized, clean and renewable energy sources -- are readily
available.

Chile's new president, Michelle Bachelet, has pledged to make
environmental protection a priority in her administration. To
fulfill that promise, she should take a hard a look at every
possible alternative before sentencing wild Patagonia to
electrocution.

Please tell President Bachelet to spare the life of this untouched
expanse of breathtaking rainforests, glaciers, fjords and
rivers.

Thank you for helping to save Chile's last wilderness frontier.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

http://www.savebiogems.org/patagonia/takeaction