Saw an interesting piece on Sixty Minutes Australia on the plight of the native people of the Amazon forest.
They have lived their lifestyle relatively untouched by modern society for thousands of years, and now, like in a scene from the movie “Avatar” that way of life is likely to come to an end. They are planning to build 60 dams throughout the Amazon which will see some areas completely flooded, while other areas will be dry and without water. They said the people that are displaced might be reduced to going to the major cities and begging for their survival. You have to wonder in such a situation whether Solar and Wind power options have been fully exhausted.
They do have two very popular people who are advocating for their cause, James Cameron, the director of Titanic and Avatar, as well as Sigourney Weaver, who I always associate with Ripley from the Alien series of movies.
Not sure if this video can be viewed by people outside of Australia, but it is definitely worth taking a look.
http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/dammed/xmn01f5