Grade 6's will be focusing on a planned hydroelectric plant in Brazil. Here's the link that first brought it to my attention:
http://boingboing.net/2011/02/09/indigenous-brazilian.html.
Some other articles we've looked at in class:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-08/amazon-tribes-march-on-brasilia-against-world-s-3rd-largest-dam.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/feb/01/brazil-dilma-rousseff-hydroelectric-dam
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5216293,00.html
More information on Brazil's energy strategy Brazil's english language site: http://www.brasil.gov.br/cop-english/overview/what-brazil-is-doing/the-energy-matrix/print
A video showing the overview of the proposed dam site:
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0830-belo_monte_google_earth.html
Grade 5's will be focusing on controversy about hydro-electric dams in Northern BC:
Some articles we've looked at in class:
http://www.bchydro.com/planning_regulatory/site_c/site_c_an_option/what_is_site_c.html
http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=43b4e082-0588-4147-ad0b-b1e07f41793b
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/18/bc-private-power-project.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-
columbia/story/2010/04/17/bc-site-c-lekstrom.html
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/story/jumbo-deception-qatmuk-declaration-ktunaxa-collaborators-and-theft-sinixt-land-and-culture/609
An overview of the issue from the BC government:
http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/EAED/EPB/Documents/History%20ofColumbiaRiverNov139web).pdf
A video clip from the CBC archives outlining some of the problems the Cree have faced with the power plant in James Bay
(Edited to add some new links to the Grade 5 side on 02.23)
