A Great Loneliness at James Bay

nnnThe James Bay and Hudson Bay region of northern Quebec is a pristine wilderness threatened by the worlds largest hydro-electric project. It is home to the Cree Indian Nation, as well as the world's largest herd of caribou, the world's largest herd of Beluga whales and the world's largest waterfowl breeding ground. The magnitude of the impact from the massive hydro project on the native people and the environment is beyond the imagination. Major rivers the size of the Colorado in the Grand Canyon either will be dried up or flooded. If all the James Bay - Hudson Bay hydro-electric projects are realized in the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, the area of boreal forest impacted will be larger than Alaska, irreversibly altering a wilderness watershed larger than the Mississippi's - an area stretching from the Rockies to the Appalachians.
nnnIn the future, with possible loans and power contracts from northeastern states, Hydro-Quebec will begin bulldozing a road into the vast Great Whale wilderness. The Cree people in the town of Great Whale are gentle people with surprisingly little anger. From comments made by third-graders in their school yearbooks to the lines of worry on the faces of the elders, one thing is clear: these people desperately need us to say "NO" to James Bay power.
nnnAs the Chief of Great Whale said, "The people at Hydro-Quebec say life will be easier for us once the projects are completed and we can just go to the supermarket for our food." Then he turned and gazed into the vast wilderness surrounding the village and softly said: "When the land and the animals upon it are beneath the water, my people will die of a Great Loneliness. The people of the United States must understand that when they turn on their lights, they'll be killing us."nn

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