Work on a dam in the Brazilian Amazon has stopped because there it might damage fish stocks on the Xingu River. This dam would be the third largest in the world when it is built, if it is built. The dam is supposed fill energy needs to Brazil and would bring benefits to Altamira and ten other towns. Political leaders have said that the dam will bring development to the region. There is an environmental activist movement called the anti-dam Xingu Para Sempre movement focused on preventing this dam from being built. They say that the dam will bring chaos to the towns around the site. It will force the people looking for jobs who arrived by boat into poverty. A document from the Altamira town hall says that the dam has brought insecurity and social chaos, and has also increased poverty. The town hall is asking for work on the dam to stop.
Dams can be both good and bad, but in this case it is a bad thing. Dams take up a lot of land and usually force people out of their homes and work. A dam that was supposed to bring development, energy, and many benefits to the area has increased poverty and brought social chaos to the region as well as harm the environment. If the dam continues to be built then it may force more people into poverty and creating an even bigger social problem. People in poverty don’t have the means to find food, shelter, and support their families. The men may be forced out of their jobs and the women in these families may find work in a factory with very low wages which may not be enough for the family. The men may not find work because the factories want women because they don’t complain, are very docile, and follow the rules. In this case the men are just a burden to the family and may leave the family which would leave the mother having to work and do everything at home.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/29/brazilian-judge-monte-bello-dam
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