Protecting Patagonia

February 21, 2008

Dear Friends,

ELAW staff attorney Jennifer Gleason and Chilean lawyer Andres Pirazzoli


Waterfall on the Baker River in the Aisén Region of the Chilean Patagonia.

Earlier this week, KLCC-FM News Director Tripp Sommer interviewed ELAW staff attorney Jennifer Gleason and Chilean lawyer Andres Pirazzoli about promoting renewable energy in Chile, and protecting Patagonia.

Listen [MP3, 4.5MB] to the interview.

Jen helps lawyers protect the climate by promoting laws that encourage the production of electricity from renewable sources, and challenging projects that produce harmful greenhouse gases. She collaborates with lawyers in 70 countries to strengthen and enforce laws that protect the environment and human rights. Jen is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, where she teaches Energy and the Law.

Andres Pirazzoli is a law intern at in Santiago. He has worked at Fiscalia del Medio Ambiente (FIMA), Chile`s leading public interest law firm, since 2004. Andres is developing FIMA`s renewable energy program and promoting renewable energy in Chile. He is here in Eugene on an ELAW Fellowship.

ELAW is working with partners in Chile to protect the heart of Patagonia from a Spanish company`s plans to dam three wild rivers for a hydroelectric scheme. The proposed $2.5 billion project would flood 22,000 acres and require the world`s longest transmission line - crossing national parks, wildlife protected areas, and forest reserves.

Thank you for your interest!

All the best,

Maggie

Maggie Keenan
Communications Director
http://www.elaw.org