Editors » 1pm - November 27, 2011

While Chile is a hotspot for adventure travelers that flock to the country to experience its many natural wonders, what many don't realize is that it has become one of the worst water polluters in the world. In 2006 the pulp manufacturing company known as CELCO brought South America's largest pulp mill into operation at Nueva Aldea, despite just having been found guilty of polluting a UNESCO biosphere reserve and killing thousands of endangered black neck swans at a facility further south in Valdivia. The Eco-Warriors visited Chile on their first trip together in April 2006, to participate in a public protest against the new pulp mill. They returned a year later, in April 2007, as the Nueva Aldea mill neared completion of a pipeline that promises to dump effluent directly into the sea. They spoke with fishermen, businesspeople, and surfers in the region to see how the new mill would impact their lives. They also visited another CELCO facility in nearby Constitucion, which many claim has turned a great tourist destination into a chemical dump. The Eco-Warriors found a political climate that favors big business and lax environmental regulations, a bad combination for protecting the health of citizens and the environment.

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