Talk:Biobío River

Confused
No specifics mentioned by Cantus in his opposition to the neutrality of the article. Only the template. However the facts are that. The Biobío was one of the best whitewater rafting trips in the world. It did have a trip that lasted 7 days. There was widespread opposition to the  the building of the dam and indigenous people were displaced. I have not mentioned the threat to several wildlife species in the article due to Endesa's building of the dam.

References are readily available including the neutral, (or so  I would assume  seeing as it is a mere travel guide and produced with co-operation from  Chilean  Govt. sources), Chile Experience  ISBN 956-7264-79-1. Quote "In the early 1980's, the Rio Biobío was catapulted to international fame as one of the worlds greatest whitewater trips: It wasn't hype, either: the original Biobío trip was a seven-day romp through forgotten wilderness inhabited by a living indigneous culture, past bubbling hotsprings at the foot of a smoking volcano, with (as the first descent team described it) ' more rapids in a single day than are run in twelve days on the Colorado, and a couple as big as the biggest in the Grand Canyon" Despite all the press, nothing could save  the Biobio from the depredations of Endesa, Chile's national power company (now a privatized and in Spanish hands). In 1996 highly controversial Pangue dam drowned the Royal flush canyon and the Canyon of the 100 Waterfalls, reducing the whitewater section to 3 days. Now construction has begun on Ralco, which will cut off flow through the remaining Class V canyon. But the greatest tragedy of the Biobío -Chile's longest and most historically significant river- is the displacement of the Pehuenche Indian families who have inhabited the valley for centuries."

End quote

There are other sources available with which I won't go into here which reflect very poorly on Endesa.

I make no apologies for using the words "sadly" or "enviromental destruction " which is perhaps an understatement. It would be helpful if Cantus could attempt to explain where his objection lies or why he does not merely edit the article. That is why everyone has the edit facility, I thought. I have not made any objection to him modifying the article or his attempting to show Endesa in a more favourable light, and in fact would welcome such discussion. Conce 23:44, 2005 August 18 (UTC)