April

The construction of big hydroelectric dams in Patagonia would not only endanger one of the world's biggest freshwater reserves, the Northern and Southern Patagonian ice fields, but would also represent a disaster for the country's energy policy.

Chile’s relatively short rivers and small river basins are very fragile ecosystems that are of great cultural and environmental value, and yet the country has exceptionally rich resources for renewable energy and the potential for energy efficiency.

Drawing on this potential would make the construction of hydroelectric dams unnecessary and ensure this precious area of Chile is preserved.

take action

To support the campaign, just take a photo of yourself with the phrase 'Patagonia SIN Represas' (Patagonia WITHOUT Dams). You can write the phrase on your face, hold a sign or get a tattoo - anything you like!

Then send the photo to turostroxpatagonia@gmail.com  so it can be added to the growing collage of faces.

• See the photographs submitted so far and read more about 'Patagonia without Dams' (in Spanish)
• Find out more about the campaign from Friends of the Earth Chile (in Spanish)

The tour took in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Buenos Aries and Santiago. At each show Friends of the Latin America were there promoting the federation's climate justice campaign.

In support of the campaign Radiohead's lead singer, Thom Yorke, said:

“The solutions to climate change already exist. We just need politicians to make the right decisions. We can all convince politicians to do the right thing.

Support Friends of the Earth's campaigns by signing up to them at our concerts or on their websites and show your governments what you want them to do against climate change”.

Here's what happened on the tour:

Mexico

During the Radiohead concerts in Mexico City, on March 15 and 16, Otros Mundos Chiapas/Friends of the Earth Mexico, collected 2,000 signatures asking the Mexican authorities to comply with agreements signed on CO2 emissions relating to sectors such as public transport, large industry and mining activities.

View photos of the audience sending their message to the world. 

Brazil

Friends of the Earth Brazil collected 2,600 signatures before the Radiohead show in São Paolo on March 22. The signatures were in  support of a bill promoting decentralised renewable energies which is currently being discussed by the government.

Carolina Hermann from FoE Brazil said that around 15 volunteers spoke to the band's fans on issues of climate justice before each show.

“The people were very receptive. When we spoke of renewable energies everyone showed an interest and wanted to collaborate” she said.

Argentina

During Radiohead's concert in Buenos Aires volunteers for Friends of the Earth Argentina collected signatures calling for a law to protect South America's Glaciers.

Ten volunteers wearing white t-shirts bearing the slogan 'Glaciers. Witnesses and victims of climate change. Protect them Now' spoke to members of the audience informing them about the melting of glaciers as a result of climate change and the need for a law to protect them.

More than 1,700 people added their signatures to the campaign which will be added to the 27,000 signatures already collected on the website www.protecciónglaciares.com.ar.

chile

In Chile volunteers from Friends of the Earth Chile/CODEFF, collected more than 6,200 signatures during Radiohead's two performances in Santiago on March 26 and 27.

The signatures also called on the government to create a law to protect glaciers. This is part of CODEFF's sustainability and climate justice campaign. The campaign aims to raise public awareness about the main causes and impacts of climate change.

When signing, many people welcomed Friends of the Earth International's climate campaign and pointed out that these kinds of initiatives are necessary to let people in Latin America know about the problem and to inform them about how they can protect the environment.

By occupying Hazelwood Power Station near Melbourne, the activists sent a clear message to state and federal governments: 'Switch off Coal and Switch on Renewables'.

Hazelwood is the most polluting power station in the industrialised world, emitting an astonishing 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. The forty-year-old power station is responsible for over 5% of Australia’s total carbon emissions and, by shutting down Hazelwood, the Australian government would instantly meet their 5% emission reduction target.

"Governments are happy to provide token support for climate change by switching off their lights for an hour, once a year, but if they are serious on climate change it's clear Hazelwood needs to be decommissioned this year," said FoE Australia climate campaigner, Louise Morris.

"This Earth Hour we need to acknowledge it is time to do so much more than just switch off our lights for an hour. We need to switch off our reliance on dirty coal and switch onto job rich renewable energy sources."

Hundreds of millions of people 'voted earth' on 28th March by switching off their lights for one hour. The event took place across 25 time zones in over 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries and represented  the world’s largest demonstration of public concern about climate change.

• Watch a video of the protest on YouTube