ACTION ALERT PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

Massive Gas Pipeline to Pierce the AmazonBy Rainforest Portal, a project of Ecological Internet,

Inc.http://www.RainforestPortal.org/

March 22, 2006TAKE ACTION

Project Will Devastate South America's Rainforests, Water&Climatehttp://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=amazon_pipeline

Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina plan to build a massive natural gas pipeline of up to 9,000 km in length from Venezuela to Argentina through Brazil's Amazon rainforest.

Construction of the pipeline would be the most ambitious physical infrastructure initiative in South America's history, costing up to $25 billion and taking up to seven years to build.

The pipeline would pierce the heart of the Amazon and ensure its destruction as a large, operable whole. Large areas of pristine rainforests will be destroyed during construction, and new roads will open the rest for colonization by ranchers and loggers.

The multitude of waterways traversing the Amazon will be polluted during construction and inevitable pipeline leaks. The pipeline will contribute to global warming through deforestation and oil production to access the gas.

The similar existing Camisea gas pipeline through rainforests in Peru - which was touted as a model of sustainable development, environmental protection and respect for indigenous peoples - offers a cautionary tale of the damage caused by gas pipelines during construction and their operation. In three years of operation is has already experienced five major spills, severely damaging the environment and local communities.

The proposed pipeline is a major threat to the existence of the Amazon rainforest, as well as regional and global ecological sustainability.

The leaders of Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina must be called upon to scrap plans for its construction.

Take action now: http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=amazon_pipeline



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