Cuenca Pre- Trip Readings
Ecuador’s Oil
Oil is one of the most important commodities that exist today. It fuels our cars, generates billions of dollars in revenue, and it arguably one of the most influential natural resources in the course of human history. It is also finite, and oil companies continue to find new sources of oil and continue to extract more and more for consumption. This continues to be the case in Ecuador’s oriente region, which forms the headwaters of the Amazon River. Here the company Texaco, which is now owned by Chevron and its partner PetroEcuador extracted oil from the 1960s to the 1990s. They left a horrible ecological disaster that still continues to affect the native people of the rainforest to this day.
Oil is one of the most important commodities that exist today. It fuels our cars, generates billions of dollars in revenue, and it arguably one of the most influential natural resources in the course of human history. It is also finite, and oil companies continue to find new sources of oil and continue to extract more and more for consumption. This continues to be the case in Ecuador’s oriente region, which forms the headwaters of the Amazon River. Here the company Texaco, which is now owned by Chevron and its partner PetroEcuador extracted oil from the 1960s to the 1990s. They left a horrible ecological disaster that still continues to affect the native people of the rainforest to this day.
It is estimated that over 900 open waste pits remain in the region that was operated by Texaco. What is shocking is that the technology existed for reinjection of waste water, and lining of pits at this time, yet the company neglected to take any of these procedures into account while extracting oil in Ecuador. Instead they had actually added pipes to these open waste pits to funnel any over flow into nearby streams and rivers. Had they done this the United States, they would have certainly been fined heavily and forced to clean up their mess. These waste pits continue to contaminate drinking water, rivers, and the once pristine rainforests of Ecuador and its inhabitants have decided to take legal action.(Justicia para Ecuador 2013)
The court battle against chevron still rages today. Chevron maintains that it is not their responsibility to clean up these sites, as PetroEcuador was the majority holder in the original consortium. Chevron also claims that they had remediated over 150 sites. These remediated sites had been retested and found to contain more contaminants than allowed by US and Ecuadorean law. The indigenous people suing Chevron call themselves “los affectados” or the affected, are suing for billions to fund cleanup, and repay the people for damages done to their land and health (Hurtig 2004) When this case was first brought to court in New York, chevron decided that the court battle should be fought in Ecuador since these courts where perfectly fair and capable of handling the case. Yet once the case was moved to Ecuador and it looked like the decision would be in favor of “los affectados” chevron denounced Ecuadorian courts and said that they were unfair and biased. (60 mins 2014)
The court battle against chevron still rages today. Chevron maintains that it is not their responsibility to clean up these sites, as PetroEcuador was the majority holder in the original consortium. Chevron also claims that they had remediated over 150 sites. These remediated sites had been retested and found to contain more contaminants than allowed by US and Ecuadorean law. The indigenous people suing Chevron call themselves “los affectados” or the affected, are suing for billions to fund cleanup, and repay the people for damages done to their land and health (Hurtig 2004) When this case was first brought to court in New York, chevron decided that the court battle should be fought in Ecuador since these courts where perfectly fair and capable of handling the case. Yet once the case was moved to Ecuador and it looked like the decision would be in favor of “los affectados” chevron denounced Ecuadorian courts and said that they were unfair and biased. (60 mins 2014)
Achuar boys in Ecuador. Credit Andy Isaacson for The New York Times
After the decision made by a judge in Ecuadorian court ruled that chevron pay 9 billion in damages, they removed all of their assets from Ecuador and stated that they were still not going to pay. This momentous legal battle has been raging for over 30 years now and the indigenous people of Ecuador still do not have justice, while their lands are still being polluted and destroyed. It is our responsibility as a society and as fellow humans ourselves to speak out against these atrocities committed by large corporations. They must be shown that in they cannot blatantly pollute some of the most ecologically important regions of the world just to make that extra profit. The reason why I go to school for Environmental Science is because I believe that there is still time to make a difference in the world. I believe that we can stand up to big oil companies, just like the big tobacco industry. I believe that science will prevail and that Chevrons denial will only hinder their image. These places that are under such a grave threat are worth protecting. These people that call these places home are no less important than our own family members. We owe it to them to cast away the blindfold of ignorance and fight for their rights as humans. Money does not have to be the dominating force in this world. It is my hope that these people continue to fight for their rights, and that the national community keeps watching. I just hope they know that they are not forgotten and that these dirty little secrets of the oil industry will not continue to be swept under the rug.
Sources:
Gay, J., Shepherd, O., Thyden, M., Whitman, M.(2010, December). 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
Hurtig, A., Sebastian, M. (2004). Oil Exploitation in the Amazon basin of Ecuador: a public health emergency. Pan Am J Public Health. 15(3). Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-ecuadoroilhealth2004.pdf
Justicia para Ecuador. (2013, August). The True Story of Chevron’s Ecuador Disaster. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_azgdnGBdh8&feature=youtu.be
K Videos. (2014, May). CBS 60 Minutes- Amazon Crude. Retrived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGG1nIwxNhs&feature=youtu.be
Sources:
Gay, J., Shepherd, O., Thyden, M., Whitman, M.(2010, December). 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
Hurtig, A., Sebastian, M. (2004). Oil Exploitation in the Amazon basin of Ecuador: a public health emergency. Pan Am J Public Health. 15(3). Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-ecuadoroilhealth2004.pdf
Justicia para Ecuador. (2013, August). The True Story of Chevron’s Ecuador Disaster. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_azgdnGBdh8&feature=youtu.be
K Videos. (2014, May). CBS 60 Minutes- Amazon Crude. Retrived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGG1nIwxNhs&feature=youtu.be