On September 12, Berta Caceres, Tomás Gomez, and Aureliano Molina, leaders of the indigenous Lenca organization Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) must appear in court. Their charges? Usurpation of land, coercion, and causing more than $3 million in damages to DESA, a hydroelectric dam company. Berta, the general coordinator of COPINH and an internationally recognized social movement leader, is also facing separate charges of illegally carrying arms “to the danger of the internal security of Honduras.”
Tag: dams
Harvesting Justice 26: “They Fear Us Because We’re Fearless” – Reclaiming Indigenous Lands & Strength in Honduras
Multinational corporations are moving into Central America to exploit gold and other minerals, rivers, forests, and agricultural lands. One area of high interest in the corporate feeding frenzy is the indigenous Lenca region in the southwest of Honduras. The government has given outside businesses concessions to dam, drill, and cut, in violation of national law and international treaties. More corporations have simply moved in on their own.
Hydropower Continues Steady Growth
World hydroelectric power generation has risen steadily by an average 3 percent annually over the past four decades. In 2011, at 3,500 billion kilowatt-hours, hydroelectricity accounted for roughly 16 percent of global electricity generation, almost all produced by the world’s 45,000-plus large dams. Today hydropower is generated in over 160 countries.
Low Impact Living: A Thirsty Nation (part 1)
Editor’s note: Water, water everywhere… not exactly! As we’ve noted on a number of occasions, water issues loom just as large as some other environmental challenges currently facing us. Our [ … ]
Why the Klamath Dams Don’t Provide “Green” Energy
The Klamath River is sick, very sick. This once mighty river runs through the Cascade Mountain Range, from southern Oregon to northern California. In 2002, over 33,000 salmon died in [ … ]