It is being posted to these lists given their subject matter
(they're all concerned with either the environment, indigenous
people and their culture, or Latin America).
Feel free to redistribute it, append signatures, and in general to do
anything with it that will propagate the message to the widest audience
possible.
Cordially,
Andres L. Pacheco.
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Andres L. Pacheco Internet e-mail: pacheco@moon.aspentec.com
Staff Engineer Phone: 1+617+577-0310 x344
Aspen Technology, Inc.
Ten Canal Park Cambridge, MA 02141 USA
----------------------------
February,1993
We, the undersigned, aware of the highest concern that your organization
has on ecological and environmental issues, address this letter
to you to express our deepest concern about the ecological disaster that
clandestine miners are causing in the Venezuelan Amazon. We also
seek your help in asking the Venezuelan Government to take the necessary
steps to interdict these destructive and illegal activities.
The presence of alluvial gold deposits in the Amazon basin has for decades
invited uncontrolled mining activities in the region. Illegal miners,
commonly known as 'garimpeiros', use highly destructive extraction methods
seeking fast monetary returns and causing enormous environmental damage.
Gold extraction usually takes place in the numerous river beds in the
region and involves the use of high pressure water pumps that
destroys the river banks and produces a muddy effluent that potentially
contains gold.
This phase of the process drives out the native animal species and
annihilates the vegetation.
The miners channel the muddy run-off into troughs and then add large
quantities of toxic mercury compounds to separate the gold from the mud.
Since a large fraction of the mercury cannot be recovered, it escapes into
the river and inevitably enters the food chain, particularly affecting the
local and downstream fish species on which local native populations depend.
These destructive mining practices constitute an act of economic aggression
on the fragile ecological system of the Amazon basin and must be halted.
Recent observers believe that the four largest tributaries of the Upper
Orinoco, one of the world's major rivers, could be completely
destroyed unless these mining activities are halted immediately.
Destruction of Amazonas' flora and fauna, unique in the world, and new
diseases introduced by the illegal miners is also threatening the cultural
and biological survival of several indigenous groups that traditionally
live in this area, among them the Yanomami, the most important
in the region. It also worth pointing out that, the Venezuelan press
denounced years ago, the brutal massacre of several members of the Piaroa tribe
at the hands of illegal miners in a brutal appropriaton of land suitable
for gold extraction.
Large regions in the Amazon, the lungs of the planet, have been slowly
converted into a desolate and parched land because of ill-conceived
attempts to produce pasture for catlle ranching. On the eve of the 21st
century, in a planet more and more abused in the name of economic progress
and development, conservation of the biological diversity of the Amazon
basin must be one of the highest priorities of our time.
For the above reasons we are making an urgent plea for your
assistance in solving this problem, a problem that concerns all mankind.
Exploitation of mineral and other resources in southern Venezuela can
become an important source of wealth for the nations concerned, but this
can - and must - be approached in the
most intelligent way possible to minimize the impact on the fragile
ecological system of this important region.
Sincerely
(signatures below)
------------
Zahie Anka
PhD Candidate Johns Hopkins University
Earth and Planetary Sciences Dept.
Baltimore.U.S.A.
e-mail:zahie@magenta.eps.jhu.edu
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e-mail: CARMEN@romac1.mech.virginia.edu
Carmen Ma. Muller-Karger,
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cramirez@lynx.dac.northeastern.edu
CARLOS ALBERTO RAMIREZ GUERRA
CI 6917156
GRADUATE STUDENT, DEPARMENT OF MATHEMATICS, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
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Miren Carranza
Research Scientist
Computational Logic Inc.
Suite 290
1717 West Sixth Street
Austin Texas 78703
1 512 322-9951
carranza@cli.com
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gonzalc@euler.mcs.utulsa.edu Carlos Gonzalez.
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luise@pion.ivic.ve Luis Emilio Guerrero
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jjp10@cwmse.mse.cwru.edu
Jorge Perdomo
Case University
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Irene S. Krisch de Quintero DR. RUBEN QUINTERO
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
HUTZEL HOSPITAL
E-MAIL: RQUINTE@WAYNEST1.BITNET
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ajb1@postoffice.mail.cornell.edu
Alvaro Belloso CI# 12.405.946
Cornell University
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Julio Vidal VIDAL@ATHENA.MIT
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aescalan@darwin.bio.uci.edu Ananias Escalante
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Wilanderst Beltran
BELTRANTENIA@VAX001.KENYON.EDU
C.I. 10.923.860
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alps@moon.aspentec.com Andres L. Pacheco Sanfuentes
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Reina Riemann
C.I: 12.623.539
e-mail : RRiemann@silver.ucs.indiana.edu.
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Rafael A. Gutie'rrez M.
Civil Engineer - M.S. Candidate in Ceramic Engineering
Venezuelan I.D. 7522735
e-mail : mgutier@clemson.clemson.edu
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Antonio Jose Delgado Parra delgado@wpi.wpi.edu
VE= 11.989.599
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RAGONZAL@ucs.indiana.edu Raul A. Gonzalez A.,
C.I. V.-12068995,
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gepst1@lis.pitt.edu Gioconda E Perez-snyder
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EELOPEZ@ucs.indiana.edu
Edickson L'opez
C.I.:12 326 280
Indiana University
University/CELT
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Antonio.Gutierrez@fymefy.lu.se
Antonio M. Gutierrez
Universidad de Lund
Suecia
Becario Bid-Conicit
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valiente@LANNION.cnet.fr
Valiente ,Ivan
C.I. 5.316.279
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ltorres@PTNEXT.CLAREMONT.EDU Leopoldo Torres, V: 11.927.160.
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Castro R., Carlos E.
ccastro@casbah.acns.nwu.edu
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Luis A. Plana C.
Ph.D. Degree Candidate in Computer Science
Columbia University
V.I.D 7.718.534
e-mail: plana@cs.columbia.edu
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Nieves Perez-Mi~ana
B.Sc. in Electronics (working in AT&T-NS-ES)
C.I. 8.042.118
e-mail: nminana@ihlpb.att.com
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bernardo@orinoco.fsl.noaa.gov Bernardo Rodriguez
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Carlos R Montes A.
Ing en Computacion.
C.I. V. 7.233.236
MONTES_CARLOS/HPMXTC_01@hpsdde.sdd.hp.com
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Ricardo F Palma K,
Civil Engineering PhD candidate,
Ven ID 9880129,
email :ricardo@risk.princeton.edu
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Herbert R. Hoeger Z.
Ph.D. Degree Candidate in Computer Science
Venezuelan I.D.: V8000908
e-mail : hhoeger@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu
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Douglas A. Garcia Gonzalez
Geofisico
Venezuelan I.D. 4746920
e-mail : Douglas_Garcia@earth.together.org
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Miguel Angel Lopez,
Researcher
malo@jyu.fi
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RICARDO A. SOLER
C.I.: V-7.625.501
E-MAIL: RSOLER@VM.TEMPLE.EDU
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Genaro Di'az Chourio
Estudiante de Ingenieri'a de Computacio'n
U.S.B.
C.I.: 10.471.556
e-mail: 87-18653@usb.ve
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B.S. Degree Candidate in Molecular Biology
C.I.V. 11.427.081
e-mail: jclopez@artsci.wustl.edu
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Mariano Fernandez H.
Dphil degree in Engineering
Venezuelan I.D. 6.702.903
e-mail : mariano@robots.ox.ac.uk
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Paul Babic-Vovk
CI 11.383.364 (venezolano)
S.S.N. 249-87-0178
e-mail:pbabic+@CMU.EDU
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Jose Alberto Fernandez R. e-mail: alberto@cs.UMD.EDU
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Manuel Rodrigo,
Visiting Scholar en The University of Kentucky
Profesor de la Universidad de carabobo.
e-mail: MARODR00@UKCC.UKY.EDU
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Yadira Chacon de Rodrigo.
Ms in Health Educacion,
The University of Kentucky.
Profesorade la Universidad de Carabobo.
e-mail: YNCHAC00.UKCC.UKY.EDU
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e-mail:mrodriqu@ccs.carleton.ca
Freddy C Gonzalez and Margarita Rodriguez de Gonzalez.
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e-mail:moy@ee.utah.edu Jimmy Moy
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e-mail: g_martinez@spike.psc.scarolina.edu
Jose Antonio Martinez
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e-mail: fgiovann@paul.rutgers.edu Federico Giovannetti
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Eduardo G. Mendez e-mail: emendez@us.oracle.com
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Felix Eduardo Sarratud
Cedula de Identidad # 11.310.340
Mail Address: FSARRATU@PTNEXT.CLAREMONT.EDU
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e-mail: jesp@leland.stanford.edu
Juan Eduardo Smith Perera
Candidate to PhD Stanford University
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Claudine Irene Alonso Lluch
e-mail:92-23770@usb.ve
C.I:11733437
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Alejandro F. Trigueros V.
Hewlett Packard de Venezuela, C.A.
P.O. Box 20010 M-165
Miami, Florida 33102 USA
E-Mail: TRIGUEROS_ALEJANDRO/HPMXTC_01@hpsdde.sdd.hp.com
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Ruben Recabarren Velarde
CI. 12.994.215
rrecabar@ucs.indiana.edu
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e-mail:J.V.Perez@newcastle.ac.uk Julio Perez Infante
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Marcos Ortiz
PhD Mechanical Engeneer
e-mail:mgo@inel.gov
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Jose L. Aguilar C.
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Informatique
Universite Rene Descartes.
Paris. France
email: jose@ehei.ehei.fr
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Ruben Medina
Candidate to PhD
Universite de Rennes I France.
Profesor Agregado Universidad de los Andes
e:mail: medina@ltsi.cicb.fr
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Johnny Mendez
e-mail:Johnny.Mendez@um.cc.umich.edu
Cedula # 11,528,171
The University of Michigan
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Marisela Sanchez Dagger
CI 5273185
e-mail:marisela@rmg.pge.uoknor.edu
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Moises Lejter PhD candidate,Brown Uviversity,Computer Science
CI 6548112
Moises_Lejter@brown.edu
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Silveiro Gonzalez Tellez
Visiting Scholar Cornell University
Prof.USB
C.I.4456512
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e-mail: yasmin@redvax1.dgsca.unam.mx
Izquierdo Liz Yasmin
Centro de ecologia de la UNAM Universidad Nacional
Autonoma de Mexico
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e-mail: marino@disam.upm.es
Esmeya de Marino (Ecologia - Univ. Autonoma de Madrid)
Mario Marin~o (Automatica - Univ. Politecnica de Madrid)
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Carlos A. Morillo D.
Systems Engineer
ECCS, Inc.
Fax 908-747-6542
e-mail: carlosm@eccs.com
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SZTHALP@UMSLVMA.UMSL.EDU Zuleyma Tang-Martinez
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Fernando J.Garay
The fletcher School at Tufts University
Boston
e-mail:fgaray@pearl.tufts.edu
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Agustin Torres Riquelme
McMaster University
e-mail:torres@apcah1.eng.mcmaster.ca
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Jose Luis Palacios
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Department of Mathematics
e-mail:jopala@m.njit.edu
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Juan Parra
Universite Laval
E-mail:juparra@gel.ulaval.ca
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