Political and Ecological Corruption: A review of The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw Rivers are the carriers of life and culture. It is on the banks of rivers where plants and animals are guaranteed what is necessary to survive: water and food. It is on the banks of rivers where the first civilizations popped up, and where some of today’s most influential cities are located. So what happens when humans begin to meddle with rivers? Dams are notorious for the destruction of river’s ecosystems and some of the civilizations around them. Though they are seen as a symbol of development and growth, in reality, they are a destructive force. It is this destruction that is detailed in Bruce Barcott’s book The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman’s Fight to Save the World’s most Beautiful Bird. This mish mash of nature journalism, mystery novel, and biography takes place in western Belize, in the depths of barely touched jungle along a river. Sharon Matola, a self taught zoo keeper, serves as the spearhead in a movement against the Chalillo dam. The movement starts with a letter of complaint and grows into an organized fight against the corrupt Belizean government and corporate backers. There are secret exchanges, downright fictional environmental and economic reports, and political proceedings that all add up to tell …show more content…
It is more pronounced, but by no means limited to these countries. Barcott ends The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw by briefly mentioning the story of a dam in the United States. This dam faced opposition and legal action, and in the end it still went through. This brings the reader into the reality of political systems everywhere. Short term solutions to problems that seem unsurmountable will usually take priority over long term, sustainable solutions that result in less destruction. It is a sad reality that this book forces its reader to