3-D Video Created to Defend of the Amazon Rivers

Photo by chrikley via flickr

In support of Brazil’s movement, Xingu Vivo Para Sempre  (Xingu River Forever Alive Movement), this 3-D video, narrated by actress Sigourney Weaver, takes us on a journey through the impact of Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River, providing people all across the globe an opportunity to see the harmful effects of the massive dam first hand.

Despite the inevitable onset of environmental and individual devastation, the Brazilian government signed the concession to build the $17 billion-dollar project, ignoring local, national, and international opposition, proven financial and technical risks, and the ready availability of clean energy alternatives.

If built, it will be the third-largest hydroelectric dam in the world, causing a diversion of the flow of the Xingu River. The dam’s reservoirs would flood 668 square kilometers, displace more than 20,000 people – including two indigenous tribes that have lived there for generations – and generate methane, a lethal greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, according to International Rivers.

The inspiration for this interactive video came about when Sigourney Weaver was in the Amazon jungle filming Avatar. While on set, she had the opportunity to meet many of the natives and see with her own eyes just how much the implementation of this monstrous dam would effect the local people. She commented that the Belo Monte Dam would be “a disaster for the Xingu River, for the rainforest, and certainly for all the indigenous people and families living along the river. Their way of life will disappear.”

With the re-release of Avatar last Friday, this video couldn’t be timelier, and it has the potential to reach people who may not have thought about the environmental impacts of damming in the Amazon jungle:

James Cameron has also produced a short feature about the Belo Monte dam called “A Message from Pandora” that can be viewed here and a Portuguese version, narrated by well-known Brazilian actor Dira Paes, will be launched next week.

You can sign the petition to stop construction of Belo Monte Dam here.

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