Oil (In Ecuador and the Amazon)
Ecuador is the smallest oil producing member of OPEC, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, but yet accounts for more than half of the country's exporting expenditures and 40% percent of their public sector revenues. Unfortunately for the economy of Ecuador they did not have enough resources to provide refined oil to keep up with demand, accruing large amounts of debt forcing Ecuador out of OPEC for nearly 15 years (but rejoined in 2007). Although they are the smallest oil producing member of OPEC, they are the third largest oil reserve country in South America, following Venezuela and Brazil, and the fifth largest oil producer (in South America). Ecuador's oil reserves are directly under the Amazon in the Oriente Basin.
Ecuador's success with their first pipeline, System Del Oleoducto Transnational Ecuatoriano (SOTE), built in 1972 was celebrated because of the new international discoveries of oil. It was quickly realized that not only will Ecuador go into mass amounts of debt because their supply does not meet demand, but pipelines located directly through the Amazon greatly endanger the indigenous inhabitants. It was not until after the creation of the second pipeline in 2001, Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP), that major backlash against oil emergence began affecting more than just the indigenous communities. The need to export oil resulted in exhausting Earth's natural resources, exploiting the Indigenous, and leaving behind contaminated and impoverished environments.
Ecuador's success with their first pipeline, System Del Oleoducto Transnational Ecuatoriano (SOTE), built in 1972 was celebrated because of the new international discoveries of oil. It was quickly realized that not only will Ecuador go into mass amounts of debt because their supply does not meet demand, but pipelines located directly through the Amazon greatly endanger the indigenous inhabitants. It was not until after the creation of the second pipeline in 2001, Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP), that major backlash against oil emergence began affecting more than just the indigenous communities. The need to export oil resulted in exhausting Earth's natural resources, exploiting the Indigenous, and leaving behind contaminated and impoverished environments.
Conflicts of Oil (Texaco Lawsuit)
Since the creation of the first pipeline to extract oil, the Indigenous people suffered greatly and used valiant efforts to reverse the thoughts of destroying the Earth of it's natural resources. The greedy oil mongers of Ecuador and international elites that controlled oil industries of Ecuador allowed Texaco into the Amazon oil basins to extract oil. The conditions that Texaco agreed to in order to export oil as efficiently but neatly as possible, turned into oil disasters leaving the inhabitants to live with crude oil spills on a daily basis. The Amazon residents sued Texaco for $1 billion U.S. dollars to make up for decades of environmental and health damages, by the malpractice of drilling and collecting crude oil. This resulted in oil spilling into the bodies of water the residents use as a daily necessity, not to mention just the mere touching of crude oil that causes long term physical damage. "Although chemical data from Ecuador is sketchy, a number of heavy metals that are commonly associated with oil exploration and production worldwide are proven or suspected human carcinogens.109 Oil field pollution can also rob waters of oxygen that is needed to sustain aquatic life, causing fishskills or stressing aquatic habitat" (Kimerling, 2006).
During the periods of time Texaco engaged in Ecuador to gather oil, the Indigenous of Ecuador were provided with little information about the benefits, but more importantly, the harmful long-term effects of oil. When oil was first being extracted by Texaco in the 1970's, the native Ecuadorians were more trusting of the American and various international groups to teach them the ways of extracting oil, without realizing that proper procedures must be taken and taught as well. After decades of extracting oil, Texaco left behind devastating effects on the land and atmosphere of Ecuador, which the Ecuadorians were continuously fighting for repercussions.
After the transformation from Texaco to Chevron, the latter company began filling in the land pits of oil and began fixing other physical damages, but not enough to make up for the decades worth of degradation. It has come so far as forcing the natural inhabitants of the Amazon out of their nature and homes due to the selfishness and greed of companies to find another profitable field.
During the periods of time Texaco engaged in Ecuador to gather oil, the Indigenous of Ecuador were provided with little information about the benefits, but more importantly, the harmful long-term effects of oil. When oil was first being extracted by Texaco in the 1970's, the native Ecuadorians were more trusting of the American and various international groups to teach them the ways of extracting oil, without realizing that proper procedures must be taken and taught as well. After decades of extracting oil, Texaco left behind devastating effects on the land and atmosphere of Ecuador, which the Ecuadorians were continuously fighting for repercussions.
After the transformation from Texaco to Chevron, the latter company began filling in the land pits of oil and began fixing other physical damages, but not enough to make up for the decades worth of degradation. It has come so far as forcing the natural inhabitants of the Amazon out of their nature and homes due to the selfishness and greed of companies to find another profitable field.
References
AmazonWatch. (2015). The Chevron Tapes: Oil Giant's Corruption & Toxic Pollution Exposed in the Amazon Rainforest. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l618BhvWkz4&feature=youtu.be
Ecuador. (2015). U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Gay, J., Shepherd, O., Thyden, M., & Whitman, M. (2010, December 15). The health effects of oil contamination: A compilation of research. Retrieved from https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-121510-203112/unrestricted/Health_Effects_of_Oil_Contamination_-_Final_Report.pdf.
JusticiaParaEcuador. (2013). The True Story of Chevron's Ecuador Disaster. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_azgdnGBdh8&feature=youtu.be
Kimerling, J. (2006). INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THE OIL FRONTIER IN AMAZONIA: THE CASE OF ECUADOR, CHEVRONTEXACO, AND AGUINDA V. TEXACO*. 13(23), 414-474.
Kvideos. (2014). CBS 60 Minutes - Amazon Crude. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGG1nIwxNhs&feature=youtu.be
Luongo, J. (2009). To Live in Cuenca, Ecuador. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDgMlYEkvXQ
Morais, C. (2012). Amazonian Deforestation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxy5k88IZiI
PeoplesUnderground. (2013). Rainforest Tribes Declare War on Big Oil Destroying Rainforest, Very Sad. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACBzaNmdid4&feature=youtu.be
Ecuador. (2015). U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Gay, J., Shepherd, O., Thyden, M., & Whitman, M. (2010, December 15). The health effects of oil contamination: A compilation of research. Retrieved from https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-121510-203112/unrestricted/Health_Effects_of_Oil_Contamination_-_Final_Report.pdf.
JusticiaParaEcuador. (2013). The True Story of Chevron's Ecuador Disaster. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_azgdnGBdh8&feature=youtu.be
Kimerling, J. (2006). INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THE OIL FRONTIER IN AMAZONIA: THE CASE OF ECUADOR, CHEVRONTEXACO, AND AGUINDA V. TEXACO*. 13(23), 414-474.
Kvideos. (2014). CBS 60 Minutes - Amazon Crude. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGG1nIwxNhs&feature=youtu.be
Luongo, J. (2009). To Live in Cuenca, Ecuador. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDgMlYEkvXQ
Morais, C. (2012). Amazonian Deforestation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxy5k88IZiI
PeoplesUnderground. (2013). Rainforest Tribes Declare War on Big Oil Destroying Rainforest, Very Sad. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACBzaNmdid4&feature=youtu.be