Siphandone

In yesterday's post we described the eight-nation investigation that found the tactics employed to fight climate-change legislation in the United States are being used across several continents.

Today we think we've found a kind of perverse example, a situation that serves as a harbinger of the hard choices ahead:

In Laos, Living On Earth's Mary Stucky recently spotlighted a dam whose construction has buried 19 villages, displaced some 6,000 people and covered 174 square miles with water.

That's the human cost. Consider, though, that this region is one of those rich repositories of rare and largely unexplored species of plants and animals. In a recent 10-year period, more than 1,000 new species were discovered there, including a rat thought to be extinct for 11 million years; a hot-pink, cyanide-producing dragon; and a species of spider that's as big as a dinner plate, according to a report by the World Wildlife Fund. And the Mekong is the home of about 80 Irrawaddy dolphins, a species that is declining rapidly.

Stucky interviewed the World Wildlife Fund's Stuart Chapman, who -- after treating her to Loa delicacies such as the cricket -- discussed the affects of the dam construction in an area where the dolphins come to feed:

Opponents say the dam at Siphandone would devastate the remaining dolphins and affect fish catches dramatically. The World Wildlife Fund's Chapman says areas like Siphandone should be avoided but he supports allowing some dams in less sensitive places and wants to be sure people are provided with a way to make a living. 

OK, so what does this all have to do with climate change? Just this: These folks are in need of jobs and economic growth.