In days, a giant Canadian mining firm could be given a greenlight to build Brazil's largest open pit gold mine, leaking tons of poisonous chemicals into the heart of the Amazon, threatening the lives of local indigenous communities. Now only an explosion of international public concern can work as an antidote to this mad 21st century gold fever.

To extract the precious metals, toxic streams of cyanide, arsenic, and mountains of chemical waste will soon replace the fresh water and endemic fish of the Xingu river. Shockingly, the State government is pushing for approval based on studies full of irregularities. But the mega mine is so risky that even federal prosecutors are calling on local authorities to deny permission, until an assessment is made of its impact on the homelands of nearby native people.

This crucial debate is happening now, largely off the radar of media and public opinion. But if a million of us ask President Dilma and the boss of Brazil’s powerful environmental protection agency to intervene and stop this lethal injection in to the Amazon, we can still halt the destruction -- especially when we drive the message home with powerful ads in some of Brazil’s biggest newspapers. Sign and spread the word now!