Activism

Tensions are so high over a proposed dam in the Brazilian Amazon that violence broke out at a May meeting in the city of Altamira to discuss the project. A thousand indigenous people from 26 ethnic tribes crowded into a high school gymnasium. Members of the the Kayapó, Juruna, Arara, Xipaia, Kuruaia, and other tribes that live along the mighty river’s second longest tributary, the Xingu, don’t get together in Altamira very often. But the $6.6 billion dam, called the Belo Monte, that Brazil’s electric utility, Electronorte, plans to build along the 1,200-mile Xingu River will affect them all. It would be the world’s third largest dam, with a potential installed capacity of 11,181 MW—and its reservoir would flood 100,000 acres, putting many tribal lands underwater.

Read more on the Amazonian Dam here 

Eleventh-hour demands from Exxon-Mobil and the toy industry are threatening our top-priority product safety reform law. In 2007, more than 45 million toys and children’s products were recalled because of dangerous magnets, unsafe levels of toxic lead and choking hazards. In response, both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to reform and strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Now, special interest demands to remove or weaken key reform provisions are preventing the bill from reaching the president.

Click here to read more about the CPSC Reform Bill.