The balance between development & the environment & native
people is one that has gone on for many years and is not likely
to stop in the near future. It would be great if green energy
alternatives could be developed to the extent that they become
economically viable right around the world. Photograph by Yvan
Cohen, LightRocket/Getty Images The Bakun dam. Photograph by
Mohd Rasfan, AFP/Getty Images Published February 27, 2013 Most
villages along the Baram River in Malaysia cannot count on
round-the-clock electricity. Diesel generators hum at night near
longhouses in the northwestern corner of the island of Borneo.
Mobile and Internet coverage are almost nonexistent. A plan to
dam the Baram River would generate power far in excess of
current demand in the rain forest state: At 1,000 megawatts, the
hydropower project would be large enough to power 750,000 homes
in the United States. Yet the promise of power rings hollow for
many who live here. Natives from the tribes of Penan, Kenyah,
and Kayan have taken to th