EmberPhoto on The Cleanest Line

If you’ve seen either of our Women’s Series ads running in Powder and Backcountry magazines for November, you’ve seen a glimpse of the photography and words of Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson, the dynamic Vermont duo that makes up EmberPhoto. Winners of Patagonia’s inaugural Dirtbag Grant, they traveled to Chile in October of 2006 to explore and raise awareness about the Rio Baker Valley – a rich ecosystem in the heart of Chilean Patagonia which is threatened by a major dam project proposed by energy giant ENDESA.

With the recent announcement of the winners of the second Dirtbag Grant, Patagonia invited Brian to recap the story on their blog, The Cleanest Line. Here's an excerpt from Brian's post:

We are not just a bunch of gringos who would prefer that Chile stop developing its wonderful country. Nor are we opposed to hydropower. We are residents of this planet who support the cause of countless Chileans endeavoring to stop the profit-driven damming – the "electrocution" – of the global treasure that is Patagonia.

If the European-owned energy giant, ENDESA, gets it way, Chilean Patagonia’s largest and wildest river, the Rio Baker, will be dammed. To connect the resulting glut of power to the Chilean national grid and the growing network of inefficient copper and gold mines in Chile’s far north, ENDESA is scheming to build a 2000km transmission line through the biodiverse heart and soul of Chilean Patagonia – degrading sweeping vistas and plowing roads through nature reserves. Once the transmission line is built, it will only be a matter of time before the remainder of Patagonia's wild rivers fall, and the rich mosaic of ecosystems that define Patagonia is torn to pieces...

…For even more on the issue, please visit "Action Alert - Don't Dam Patagonia" at Patagonia.com. Thanks to Brian and Emily for starting the Dirtbag Grant off right.

The trip resulted trip in a host of publicity and inspiration, with a feature story in the February 2007 issue of Backcountry Magazine, countless images, our own advertising campaign, and Brian and Emily’s Wild People, Wild Places slideshow.

Tomorrow we’ll bring you Brian and Emily’s story from our consumer brochure and a few more images of this beautiful land. Until then, click play on EmberPhoto’s Endangered Patagonia video, or check out the rest of the post on The Cleanest Line for more.



(Video courtesy of EmberPhoto.com)