folks, i got this today. some others of you may have too. i am just passing the info along. we would all hate to see the jungle dammed. howler monkeys & scarlet macaws are in jeapardy, among others.
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Dear Jane,
I'm writing to you from Belize City on behalf of the International Coalition to Save the Macal River Valley to thank you for signing the petition to stop Fortis Inc from building the proposed Chalillo dam in Belize and to ask for your help. May 15, at the Annual Shareholder meeting, Fortis Directors need to hear the urgent message to stop plans for the dam.
There are two immediate ways you can help:
1-Forward this message to people you know and ask them to sign the petition at
WWW.STOPFORTIS.ORG. The petition has now received some 2000 endorsements from around the world, and we're hoping to double this by the time of Fortis' shareholder meeting. People are still returning regularly to the site to get updates on the threat to Belize's rainforest, and to read the messages to Fortis that are pouring in.
2-Write to Angus Bruneau Chairman of the Board at Fortis from
WWW.STOPFORTIS.ORG (click on Save BioGems) and ask him to cancel plans for the dam.
Now is a critical stage for the efforts to save the Macal River Valley--lawsuits brought by our organization, the Belize Alliance of Conservation NGO's, have succeeded in halting the illegal construction of the dam for now. We are committed to taking our case as far as it needs to go, but we hope that Fortis will work with us to find a better option for the people of Belize: Belizeans still pay Fortis the highest rates for electricity in all of Central America and three times more than Canadians pay. The new dam would only increase these rates.
For an update on the lawsuits, to view the CBC Disclosure or Zone Libre documentaries on the dam, Probe International's complaint of professional misconduct in AMEC's environmental assessment, funded by Canada's foreign aid agency and much more, visit
www.stopfortis.org, and click on Recent Update.
Thank you again for your support to save Belize's Macal River Valley. Together, we are making a difference.
Sincerely,
Jamillah Vasquez, Belize Alliance of Conservation NGO's,
for the Coalition to Save the Macal River Valley (see
www.stopfortis.org/coalition.html)