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A month after placing a disappointing third in the race for mayor of St. John’s, Greg Malone is striking out on another crusade this week.

But this time it’s to save endangered creatures rather than complacent voters.

Malone, a comedian with a national following for the zany characters he played on the Codco TV series, and an outspoken environmental activist, will represent Newfoundland’s environmental groups opposed to a plan by St. John’s-based Fortis Inc. to build a hydroelectric dam in Belize, at a media blitz in Toronto Thursday.

“It’s coming up to decision time on this issue,” Malone said Monday.

“We’re hoping to step up the pressure to influence the people who have influence over Fortis to make the right decision — and that is to call off this project. It’s been documented that the damage will be too great, and we know that Fortis doesn’t need to do this to save themselves — they’re doing quite well.

“Just to put it into perspective — outside of St. John’s we have the Petty Harbour dam which puts out 20 megawatts of power.

“We’re getting 6,000 megawatts from the Upper Churchill. But this dam in Belize is going to flood over 20 miles of critical habitat and probably wipe out the Scarlet Macaw, and they’re going to get six megawatts out of it.

“That’s like enough to power a pedal bike.”

Malone will be joined by Robert Kennedy Jr., among others. The news conference in Toronto is being organized by a number of groups, including the Sierra Club of Canada, the American environmental group National Resources Defence Council, Toronto-based citizens group Probe International, and the Belize Zoo.

Malone is no stranger to environment activism. He was one of the most outspoken enemies of Fortis when the company made an unsuccessful bid to purchase Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro during Clyde Wells’ administration.

The Macal River Valley in western Belize is one of the most pristine and fragile habitats in Central America.

It is home to more than a dozen rare and endangered species, including the jaguar, tapir, howler monkey, and the Scarlet Macaw — fewer than 200 of these birds are left in Belize, located south of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on the Caribbean coast.

Fortis is proposing to build the Chalillo dam to develop the hydro capability of the Macal River.

The company says the project is necessary to develop the country. The Belize government has been waging a campaign to discredit environmental groups opposed to the project.

In October 1999, Fortis acquired a 67 per cent interest in Belize Electricity Ltd. (BEL), the distributor of electricity in Belize.

Fortis also holds a 95 per cent interest in Belize Electric Co. Ltd., which owns and operates the Mollejon hydroelectric facility, a 25-megawatt generating plant that sells its entire output to BEL. The Government of Belize holds the other five per cent in the power company.

“Another river, another monopoly,” said Malone.