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From: GlenBarry [at] EcologicalInternet.org
Date: Jun 21, 2006 11:54 AM
Subject: WATER ALERT: Water More Precious than Gold, Stop Chile’s Pascua Lama Gold

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ACTION ALERT

Water More Precious than Gold, Stop Chile’s Pascua Lama Gold Mine

By Water Conserve, project of Ecological Internet, Inc.
www.waterconserve.org/

June 21, 2006

TAKE ACTION

Glacier gold mine will taint pristine valley with cyanide www.waterconserve.org/alerts/send.asp?id=chile_gold_water

Canadian-based Barrick Gold plans to soon launch a gold mine in a remote Chilean valley that will destroy regional water supplies and devastate local sustainable agricultural practices. The proposed “Pascua Lama” mine will lead to the destruction of glaciers and contamination of the purest of water sources necessary for Chile’s well-being. As is typical for gold mining, the project will use cyanide and other toxic materials to extract small amounts of gold from huge volumes of mined ore. Toxic chemical waste including cyanide will be removed via drainage into nearby rivers, seriously polluting marvelously pure glacial fed rivers, and causing long-term environmental impacts for local peoples. In a first, glaciers abutting and partially covering the proposed mine will be destroyed, posing a threat to the ecosystem and further contaminating the source of local water supplies, seriously harming agriculture and quality of life in the region. Lack of global access to freshwater is the biggest immediate environmental threat to hundreds of millions of people. Global warming and deforestation are worsening this water crisis. Water is more precious than gold, and its accessibility must be a global human right that surpasses all other considerations. There can be no further destruction of natural water systems upon which humanity is utterly dependent upon for life. Let’s draw the line at Pascua Lama.

Take action:
www.waterconserve.org/alerts/send.asp?id=chile_gold_water

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