Hydroelectric dams are built to take advantage of the force with which water flows down a river to supply to our human needs. Such needs range from electricity generation to irrigation and flood control. However, dams affect the environment drastically, especially when there are river-dwelling people who rely on that water source for their livelihood. In the past century, thousands of dams have been built around the world as our reliance upon electricity increases. There are many new dams being constructed as we speak, including a monolith one on the Yangtze River of China and five along the Usumacinta River which marks the border of Mexico and Guatemala. Dams can displace millions of people, as the land immediately surrounding the site slowly floods. The river's natural course has been manipulated. One community currently threatened by the construction of a dam is in Bethel, Guatemala. They are a small farming community, living right along the majestic Usumacinta River. A man named Fito has a huge family and owns the one generator in town. He has a little shop selling everything from water to beer, chips to chupa chups, cigarettes to checkers sets. There is one church in town and one soccer field. There is talk of organizing to protest the proposed dams. Members of the community are studying the situation and learning just what the government has in store for them. By researching previous dam catastrophes, such as the Chixoy Dam, the people of Bethel are intent on not selling their land and not moving to make way for corporate energy profiteers. One such organization is the Frente Petenero Contra Las Represas, based in Santa Elena, Peten, in Northern Guatemala. Read More. Where have all the wild rivers gone?