While citizen animosity towards Santiago is apparent throughout the country, potentially detracting from trans-regional support of the No Alto Maipo movement, this dynamic is not black and white. In many ways, responses to the Alto Maipo development have amplified the existence of hydro project resistances in other regions. The more specific relationship between Santiago and the Maipo Valley is also […]
Keeping Current or Delving Into Too Much Detail
As the hydro developments I am focusing on in Chile, mainly the Maipo and Manso, are currently being constructed, their fluctuating statuses are difficult to keep up with as I attempt to draw conclusions. The Ñuble River has most recently distracted my focus. The Ñuble runs through the Bío Bío Region and is currently slated for two projects. […]
Cabalgata en Defensa del Valle del Puelo
Hydropower: The Renewable Energy Masquerade?
Hydropower projects in many countries continue to ride on the politically endorsed wave of “renewable” energy promotion, despite their implications. While the use of water’s kinetic energy is renewable in terms of the general hydraulic cycle, climate variations and basin wide ecological degradation bring into question the reality of hydropower’s “renewable” state. It has become […]
Considering Generalizations and Solidifying Connections Between Dam Dependent Nations
The ways in which Arundhati Roy depicts hydropower dynamics in India is powerful, and there are definite connections and generalizations to be made regarding nations building large dams. However, her writings have allowed me to more clearly perceive how Chile differs in many regards. These differences are not necessarily better or worse, but those who […]
Alto Maipo: Conflicto Social por el Agua en Chile
The caption of this video emphasizes Santiago’s relation and dependence upon the Maipo River. While the video itself delves into the specific impacts of the Alto Maipo project, the lack of separation of San Jose de Maipo as an entity outside of Santiago is not one often represented, nor is it one that I found to be […]
Chile Travels: Initial Reactions and Mind Melting Realizations
I now know that if I hadn’t traveled to Chile, my thesis would have been some sort of farce. The information I was able to gather uncovered intricacies and unfortunate truths that would have been impossible for me to grasp without having experienced their realities. That being said, I could have used six more months […]
The Tax: Unused Chilean Water Rights an Economic Burden
In 2005, one of the amendments of the Water Code created a tax on unused water rights. As the international energy sector controls the majority of Chile’s water, especially in the South, anterior motives becomes clear. Economic incentive to profit off of the resource rather than pay to maintain potential future use is obvious. Furthermore, the same amendment provided […]
The Puelo: Exposing Chile’s Politically Exploitive Behavior
Over the past month, conflicts regarding hydro developments in the south of Chile have exploded. The Puelo River, which begins in Argentina and flows through Chile, relatively near the Futaleufú, has been targeted for a massive hydroelectric dam. Despite nearly 30 listed complaints, the Mediterranean dam, which will use the majority of the Torrentoso’s and Manso’s water, […]
Social Ramifications of Privatized Water Rights
Social injustices are a common result of mismanaged and over allocated water resources. While those peoples located nearest the resource often depend on its health and flow most directly, their power over its management does not reflect such a relationship. This issue is especially prevalent in Chile, as water rights are overwhelmingly held by energy […]