Demand Democracy for Chile - NO to HidroAysén!

Send a letter to the Chilean Embassy to support the Chilean demand for democracy and truly sustainable development.

On May 9th, 2011 the Environmental Impact Assessment for the destructive HidroAysén project in Patagonia was approved, despite flaws and irregularities in the entire process. A team of lawyers, activists and affected people in Chile filed a lawsuit soon after, citing the irregularities in the EIA process. The Supreme Court is set to rule on the case in December of 2011 or January 2012.

Chileans have held massive demonstrations throughout Chile and around the world calling for a Patagonia Sin Represas (Patagonia Without Dams), and another one is scheduled for December 10.

The government of Chile should respect the 74% of Chileans who are opposed to damming the rivers of Patagonia, and who are instead calling for a truly sustainable energy future.

Please join this amazing movement for sustainable development by sending a letter to the Chilean Embassy now.

Subject:

Your Letter:

Dear Ambassador Fernandois,

I'm writing today to let you know my concerns about the HidroAysén project in Chile. I stand in solidarity with the 74% of Chileans who do not want this project built, and who are instead calling for a sustainable energy future for their country based on energy efficiency and development of solar, wind and wave technologies.

The HidroAysén project should not have been approved due to the serious flaws and irregularities in the environmental review process. These include still outstanding issues such as the unanswered questions submitted by citizens, the lack of settlement agreements with affected people, and the absence of critical information such as correct baseline data, a full assessment of the areas that would be affected by the dams, the effects on local flora and fauna including the endangered huemul deer, and the use of incorrect data and assumptions to measure and assess river sedimentation and glacial hazards.

I'm also concerned that HidroAysén will open up Patagonia to further destructive development projects – the first of which would be the nearly 2,000 km transmission line needed to export the energy from Patagonia up to the central grid in Santiago. This transmission line would require a clearcut through virgin rainforest, protected areas, national parks, and a geologically risky region strewn with active volcanoes and afflicted by earthquakes. Unmitigated development in Patagonia would threaten the way of life of the local population, and would destroy the local ecotourism industry.

I fully support the demand by Chileans for their government to invest in energy efficiency and non-conventional renewable energy that will provide Chile with affordable, sustainable and less destructive energy for development. The US$7 billion dollars that HidroAysén is expected to cost would be better invested in projects that will help secure reliable, local, and less expensive energy for all Chileans.

Please submit my concerns to President Piñera; he has a chance to be a leader in his country and the world by guiding Chile into a sustainable future instead of investing in outdated, expensive and risky projects such as HidroAysén. He should respect the will of the majority of his people instead of catering to corporate interests who want to profit from the water rights given to them for free during the dictatorship of General Pinochet.

Sincerely,