John W. Snow
Secretary of the Treasury
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

RE: Stop World Bank financing of destructive dam in Laos

Dear Secretary Snow,

As a concerned U.S. citizen and taxpayer, I am strongly opposed to World Bank financing for the billion-dollar Nam Theun 2 hydropower project in Laos. I urge the US government to vote NO on Nam Theun 2 at the World Bank Board of Directors.

Profits would flow to French and Thai shareholders while six thousand indigenous people will be forced to move onto land that is infertile and unfit for farming. Fisheries in two rivers would be disrupted by the dam's operations, destroying the livelihoods of another 60,000 to 100,000 people. And dozens of endangered species, including one of the last wild herds of Asian elephants, would be pushed closer to the brink of extinction.

The Lao government has not proven it is able to handle the risks of the project, and the World Bank has published only vague details for how the revenues from the project would be managed to alleviate poverty in Laos.

The Bank claims that the dam is necessary for reducing poverty and saving wildlife. But ending poverty does not begin by destroying people's land and livelihoods.

Now is the time to stop the World Bank from promoting such destructive projects!