Oil Exploitation in the Amazon
The Amazon rainforest, the largest remaining natural resource on this planet, is one of the world’s oldest living ecosystems. Other wise known as the lungs of the earth, the Amazon rainforest produces 20% of all the world’s oxygen. This biodiverse ecosystem is in danger, with 21, 500 km of land being destroyed annually. Seventy percent of deforestation is due to commercial cattle ranchers, with logging (illegal and legal), forest fires, and development of roads being additional threats. Deforestation is the 2nd leading cause of climate change, as the carbon sequestered in trees is released back into the atmosphere ( Morais, 2012). The Ecuadorian Amazon is no different, and faces many of the same challenges. In addition, the wealth that lies below the ground in the form of crude oil has put major stress on the ecosystem and those who inhabit it.
Since the 1970's oil has been a major source of income for Ecuador. Most of this oil comes from the northeastern part of the country, right under the Amazon rainforest. The oil secret accounts for more than half of the country's export earnings and about two-fifths of public sector revenues. Two major pipelines exist in Ecuador, the older and more widely used System Oleducto Trans-Ecuatoriano (SOTE) and the Oleducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP). About 70% of the country's crude travels through the SOTE, and the rest through the OCP. Roughly 70% of all the crude oil produced in Ecuador is exported, most of which goes to the United States. Although Ecuador also has three commercial oil refineries, it is a net importer of refined oil products such as gasoline and diesel (U.S. Energy Administration Information, 2015).
The Amazon basin of Ecuador, also known as el Oriente, consists of more than 100,000 km2 of tropical rainforest at the headwaters of the Amazon river network and is home to about 500,000 indigenous people. In 1967 a rich field of oil was discovered beneath the forest, which lead to the oil boom and development of roads, pipelines, and oil facilities (Sebastian and Hurtig, 2004). As of January 2015, Ecuador had 8.8 billions of crude oil reserves- the third largest oil reserves in South America. Since the oil has been discovered many different companies have been involved, including private foreign companies and national companies such as Petroecuador. Since oil exploitation began, Petroecuador along with private foreign companies have extracted more than two billion barrels of crude oil from the Amazon, creating billion of gallons of untreated wastes, gas, and crude that gets released into the environment (U.S. Energy Administration Information, 2015).
The Amazon rainforest, the largest remaining natural resource on this planet, is one of the world’s oldest living ecosystems. Other wise known as the lungs of the earth, the Amazon rainforest produces 20% of all the world’s oxygen. This biodiverse ecosystem is in danger, with 21, 500 km of land being destroyed annually. Seventy percent of deforestation is due to commercial cattle ranchers, with logging (illegal and legal), forest fires, and development of roads being additional threats. Deforestation is the 2nd leading cause of climate change, as the carbon sequestered in trees is released back into the atmosphere ( Morais, 2012). The Ecuadorian Amazon is no different, and faces many of the same challenges. In addition, the wealth that lies below the ground in the form of crude oil has put major stress on the ecosystem and those who inhabit it.
Since the 1970's oil has been a major source of income for Ecuador. Most of this oil comes from the northeastern part of the country, right under the Amazon rainforest. The oil secret accounts for more than half of the country's export earnings and about two-fifths of public sector revenues. Two major pipelines exist in Ecuador, the older and more widely used System Oleducto Trans-Ecuatoriano (SOTE) and the Oleducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP). About 70% of the country's crude travels through the SOTE, and the rest through the OCP. Roughly 70% of all the crude oil produced in Ecuador is exported, most of which goes to the United States. Although Ecuador also has three commercial oil refineries, it is a net importer of refined oil products such as gasoline and diesel (U.S. Energy Administration Information, 2015).
The Amazon basin of Ecuador, also known as el Oriente, consists of more than 100,000 km2 of tropical rainforest at the headwaters of the Amazon river network and is home to about 500,000 indigenous people. In 1967 a rich field of oil was discovered beneath the forest, which lead to the oil boom and development of roads, pipelines, and oil facilities (Sebastian and Hurtig, 2004). As of January 2015, Ecuador had 8.8 billions of crude oil reserves- the third largest oil reserves in South America. Since the oil has been discovered many different companies have been involved, including private foreign companies and national companies such as Petroecuador. Since oil exploitation began, Petroecuador along with private foreign companies have extracted more than two billion barrels of crude oil from the Amazon, creating billion of gallons of untreated wastes, gas, and crude that gets released into the environment (U.S. Energy Administration Information, 2015).
Oil and People
There are many tribes of the Amazon who fear that there way of life is at jeopardy due to big oil companies moving in. The tribes are surrounded by drilling, having to watch the precious ecosystem be destroyed. The Huaorani tribe, more stone age than modern age, are skilled in survival in the rainforest. They encourage their children to group up connected to nature, understanding creatures large and small, and to most importantly honor the way of their ancestors. The leader of one particular tribe, the Ketron tribe, sees no difference between the survival of the forest and the survival of his people ( CitizenActionNow, 2013). Marlon Santi, Kechwa Sarayaku leader stated, " In our worldview, our territory can not be sold. In our philosophy, our territory is like our Mother. Therefore, we respect her, we live from her, we are born from her, we grow in her, and we eventually return to her.
A scientific expert, who once worked for the EPA on superfund sites in the United States, is now working for the people suing Chevron. He stated that Ecuador was treated like a “trash heap” from these companies, and that nothing like this would have ever been allowed to happen in the United States ( Crazyjulieta, 2010).
There has been reports of decreased aquatic life in streams once teeming with creatures, and an increase in the death of livestock who drink the water. These same streams and rivers are used for drinking, bathing, cooking, and washing, and are now polluted with chemicals that adversely affected the health of the indigenous who use it. Many studies conclude that there is a correlation between the proximity of the resident to contamination and increased cancer rates. Research shows that living close to the contamination areas increases the risk of cancer of the stomach, rectum, skin, kidney, cervix, and lymph nodes. Residents living in the areas of contamination also experience increased morbidity, spontaneous abortion, dermatitis, skin mycosis, malnutrition, and mortality rates than residents not living in contamination areas. Children in contamination areas are often seen with horrible skin rashes, and have an increased change of hematopoietic cancers. Childhood leukemia is also connected to living in close proximity to the oil fields ( Gay, Shepherd,, Thyden, & Whitman, n.d.)
There are many tribes of the Amazon who fear that there way of life is at jeopardy due to big oil companies moving in. The tribes are surrounded by drilling, having to watch the precious ecosystem be destroyed. The Huaorani tribe, more stone age than modern age, are skilled in survival in the rainforest. They encourage their children to group up connected to nature, understanding creatures large and small, and to most importantly honor the way of their ancestors. The leader of one particular tribe, the Ketron tribe, sees no difference between the survival of the forest and the survival of his people ( CitizenActionNow, 2013). Marlon Santi, Kechwa Sarayaku leader stated, " In our worldview, our territory can not be sold. In our philosophy, our territory is like our Mother. Therefore, we respect her, we live from her, we are born from her, we grow in her, and we eventually return to her.
A scientific expert, who once worked for the EPA on superfund sites in the United States, is now working for the people suing Chevron. He stated that Ecuador was treated like a “trash heap” from these companies, and that nothing like this would have ever been allowed to happen in the United States ( Crazyjulieta, 2010).
There has been reports of decreased aquatic life in streams once teeming with creatures, and an increase in the death of livestock who drink the water. These same streams and rivers are used for drinking, bathing, cooking, and washing, and are now polluted with chemicals that adversely affected the health of the indigenous who use it. Many studies conclude that there is a correlation between the proximity of the resident to contamination and increased cancer rates. Research shows that living close to the contamination areas increases the risk of cancer of the stomach, rectum, skin, kidney, cervix, and lymph nodes. Residents living in the areas of contamination also experience increased morbidity, spontaneous abortion, dermatitis, skin mycosis, malnutrition, and mortality rates than residents not living in contamination areas. Children in contamination areas are often seen with horrible skin rashes, and have an increased change of hematopoietic cancers. Childhood leukemia is also connected to living in close proximity to the oil fields ( Gay, Shepherd,, Thyden, & Whitman, n.d.)
Chevron vs. The Amazon
In the 1960’s Chevron, who merged with and was operating under Texaco brand, went into a contract to extract oil from the Amazon. In 1964 they began extraction, and committed one of the worst acts of environmental abuse in history. From 1964- 1992, Chevron intentionally used cheap, profit maximizing strategies to extract billions of gallons of crude oil. Chevron follows strict guidelines when operating in the United States, which include lining pits to temporarily store oil waste, reinjecting toxic water back into the ground, and disposing of the oil sludge when extraction is completed. They chose, in order to maximize profits, that these strategies did not need to be implemented in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Instead, Chevron did not line the storage pits which lead to the contamination of groundwater, chose not the reinject the toxic water back into the ground but instead used pipes to put the water directly back into the rivers, and chose not to dispose of the toxic sludge properly but piped it into the rivers (Justicia para Ecuador, 2013). Chevron filled the Amazon with 344 oil pits and 1200 pools of toxic crude oil waste, which were lit ablaze and covered in dirt in an attempt to “hide” the evident environmental crimes. (Empire Files, 2016).
The damage is clearly seen and widespread, with old pits still full of crude and black oil in the water ways. Emergildo Criollo, leader of the Cofan indigenous group, stated that Chevron employees assured the village elders that “the black oil in the water was full of vitamins and minerals”. This indigenous group, along with others, depend on the health of the ecosystem for survival. They wash, cook, fish, and bath in the waterways, which is leading to the elimination on of their culture as more and more fall ill and die due to the deliberate contamination ( Justicia para Ecuador, 2013). In 1993 a class action lawsuit was filed. On one side stood one of the wealthiest companies in the world, and on the other 30,000 of the poorest people of the Amazon and the lawyers who represented them. The indigenous people of the Amazon were represented by Frente de Defense de la Amazonia, an environmental justice organization, and Amazon Watch, an American NGO that supports communities affected by U.S based oil and mining operations( Widener, 2007). The lawyers for the indigenous were demanding proper cleanup, the installation of re-injection technology in the wells, economic compensation, and medical monitoring and assistance for those affected by oil-related illnesses. Chevron entered into a deal with the Ecuadorian government to spend 40 million in a remediation process. Of the estimated 12,000 disaster sites, Chevron dictated conditions and used legal loopholes to only tend too 180 pits. The remediation methods used on this small fraction of the damage were fraudulent, with evidence showing that there were high levels of TPH and blatant crude and crude waste in the “remediated” areas.Chevron used dirty tactics, espionage, bribery and endlessly drug out the case, in an attempt to bankrupt opponents. They argued that Ecuadorian courts were corrupt and unjust, even though they had fought to move the case from the United States to the country where the crime was committed. They spent millions defending themselves in trial, creating disinformation campaigns, and paying corrupt judges and scientists to alter data. They even payed millions to lobbyists to pressure the US government to cute trade with Ecuador, in an attempt to punish the country for letting the citizens start a lawsuit against the company.
In 2011 an Ecuadorian judge declared that Chevron must pay 9.6 billion in damages, marking a historic victory for the indigenous who filed the lawsuit. Rather than paying the 19 billion, which is only a small fraction of their revenue, they refused to pay and pulled all assets out of the country. Using the Bilateral Investment Treaty, Chevron won the major arbitration victory which undermined the 9 billion dollar judgement made in Ecuador. Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and the representatives of the United Nations agree that bilateral investment treaties do not operate in the interest of the majority, law, or fairness, but in the interest of capital (Empire Files, 2016).
References
Camilla Morais. ( 2012, January 19). Amazonian Deforestation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxy5k88IZiI
CitizenActionNow. ( 2013, May 11). Rainforest Tribes Declare War on Big Oil Destroying Rainforest, Very Sad. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACBzaNmdid4&feature=youtu.be
Crazyjulieta. ( 2010, May 21). Chevron vs. Indigenous Tribes in Ecuador- The real price of oil. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx1s2JtfSLA
Empire Files. (2016, September 13). Chevron vs. the Amazon-Full Documentary. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MssnB31PmZI (6)
Justicia para Ecuador. (2013, August 13). The True Story of Chevron’s Ecuador Disaster. Retreived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_azgdnGBdh8&feature=youtu.be (3)
U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2015, March 17). Ecuador. Retrieved December 13th, 2017 from https://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-ecuadoroilresources2015.pdf
Sebastián, M. S., & Hurtig, A. K. (2004). Oil exploitation in the Amazon basin of Ecuador: a public health emergency. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 15(3). doi:10.1590/s1020-49892004000300014
Widener, P. (2007). Oil Conflict in Ecuador. Organization & Environment, 20(1), 84-105. doi:10.1177/1086026607300321
Gay, J., Shepherd, O., Thyden, M., & Whitman, M. (n.d.). The Health Effects of Oil Contamination: A Compilation of Research. Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Camilla Morais. ( 2012, January 19). Amazonian Deforestation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxy5k88IZiI
CitizenActionNow. ( 2013, May 11). Rainforest Tribes Declare War on Big Oil Destroying Rainforest, Very Sad. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACBzaNmdid4&feature=youtu.be
Crazyjulieta. ( 2010, May 21). Chevron vs. Indigenous Tribes in Ecuador- The real price of oil. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx1s2JtfSLA
Empire Files. (2016, September 13). Chevron vs. the Amazon-Full Documentary. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MssnB31PmZI (6)
Justicia para Ecuador. (2013, August 13). The True Story of Chevron’s Ecuador Disaster. Retreived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_azgdnGBdh8&feature=youtu.be (3)
U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2015, March 17). Ecuador. Retrieved December 13th, 2017 from https://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-ecuadoroilresources2015.pdf
Sebastián, M. S., & Hurtig, A. K. (2004). Oil exploitation in the Amazon basin of Ecuador: a public health emergency. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 15(3). doi:10.1590/s1020-49892004000300014
Widener, P. (2007). Oil Conflict in Ecuador. Organization & Environment, 20(1), 84-105. doi:10.1177/1086026607300321
Gay, J., Shepherd, O., Thyden, M., & Whitman, M. (n.d.). The Health Effects of Oil Contamination: A Compilation of Research. Worcester Polytechnic Institute.