Cuenca
Oil has been extracted in northeastern Ecuador (the Oriente) since 1972. This region is not only home to rainforest, but 8 indigenous peoples and migrant peasants. Oil exploration and extraction has drastically changed this area’s ecosystems and geography; nearly 1 million hectares of the Amazon has been opened to residents and oil companies. In addition to increased land use, there has been severe leakage of the trans-Andes pipeline as well as pollution caused by reckless use of unlined pits for oil waste storage.
Many water sources in the area that are commonly used for drinking, cooking, bathing, and cleaning have been contaminated with petrochemicals and other pollutants; as a result, (multiple studies have shown) cancer rates are higher. A 1993 study also found other negative effects of oil contamination, including spontaneous abortion, dermatitis, malnutrition, and skin mycosis. I find it extremely disheartening that Chevron refuses to clean up the damage caused by Texaco (which it now owns). The effects of oil contamination, especially in the Oriente, are clear. With any luck, Chevron will be forced by the courts to remediate its contaminated sites. Until then, raising awareness about the issue is key. |
An Ecuadorian court ordered oil giant Chevron to pay over $17 billion in fines and punitive damages for contamination they’ve been responsible for since the 1970s. They plan to appeal the ruling, but suggest that they won’t ever pay, even calling the decision “illegitimate and unenforceable”. The plaintiffs (a group of 30,000 Ecuadorian citizens) also plan to appeal; they believe that the fine is not enough to cover repairs and remediation (under the original ruling, half of the fine would be eliminated if Chevron apologized within 1 days).
I think it’s absolutely disgusting that Chevron is likely going to get away with the billions of dollars’ worth of damage it caused over the last half of the 20th century. The most recent decision in this decades-long battle favored Chevron; the US supreme court ruled that the company did not have to pay the $8.6 billion fine, citing corruption in the Ecuadorian judgement. They did, however, admit to the pollution (Reuters, 2017). I’m not sure where this leaves the case from a legal standpoint, but I hope that in the coming years Chevron will be forced to pay for its mistakes.
Reuters. (2017, June 19). US Top Court Hands Chevron Victory in Ecuador Pollution Case. Retrieved December 26, 2017, from https://www.voanews.com/a/supreme-court-chevron-equador/3906556.html
I think it’s absolutely disgusting that Chevron is likely going to get away with the billions of dollars’ worth of damage it caused over the last half of the 20th century. The most recent decision in this decades-long battle favored Chevron; the US supreme court ruled that the company did not have to pay the $8.6 billion fine, citing corruption in the Ecuadorian judgement. They did, however, admit to the pollution (Reuters, 2017). I’m not sure where this leaves the case from a legal standpoint, but I hope that in the coming years Chevron will be forced to pay for its mistakes.
Reuters. (2017, June 19). US Top Court Hands Chevron Victory in Ecuador Pollution Case. Retrieved December 26, 2017, from https://www.voanews.com/a/supreme-court-chevron-equador/3906556.html
Texaco (Chevron) extracted billions of gallons of oil from the Ecuadorian Amazon over a period of 26 years. In doing so, they created one of the largest anthropogenic environmental disasters in the world. Although they followed strict environmental protocols for oil extraction in the US, Chevron ignored these standard practices in Ecuador. They didn’t line their waste pits, they burned gaseous waste, and they didn’t re-inject their foundation water. In total, Chevron estimates that they dumped over 16 billion gallons of toxic waste into the Amazon basin.
Perhaps the most directly affected humans were/are Ecuador’s indigenous peoples. Not only were their sources of drinking/bathing water and fishing grounds polluted- Chevron told them that the oil waste they saw was “full of vitamins and minerals”. In reality, the contaminants lead to liver damage, nervous system damage, spontaneous miscarriages, cancer, and death. Chevron decided that the costs of remediation were too great; the limited cleanups that they’ve done in affected areas were superficial. Seeing a large company like Chevron ignore the damage it’s done to both Ecuadorian indigenous peoples and the environment is frustrating. Although they have been controversial in Ecuador’s past, I believe that ecoimperialist NGOs have the potential to help in this situation. While it’s clear that Chevron should pay for the remediation of their sites, it’s also apparent that they have no intention of doing so. Though it’s easier said than done, a possible solution may be for particularly rich ecoimperialists to start the remediation process, and continue until Chevron is finally forced to pay for its mistakes. |
Over 23 years, Texaco (a partner of Ecuador’s national oil company, Petroecuador) pumped out 1.5 billion barrels of oil from the Ecuadorian Amazon. They drilled hundreds of wells, and created several waste pits at each well. Then, after extraction was complete, they abandoned the wells and pits. It’s been decades since then, and the drilling sites have contaminated groundwater and rivers/streams, and have been linked to increased occurrences of cancer, organ failure, spontaneous abortion, and death.
According to a former EPA Superfund employee, the levels of environmental damage created by Texaco would not be tolerated in the US. It disgusts me that they’ve avoided remediation, at the cost of fellow humans’ lives, for the sake of greed; they failed to follow industry standards for environmental safety because they knew they could get away with it. Learning about this issue has certainly piqued my interest in environmental remediation and pollution and the role of corruption and lobbying in international affairs.
According to a former EPA Superfund employee, the levels of environmental damage created by Texaco would not be tolerated in the US. It disgusts me that they’ve avoided remediation, at the cost of fellow humans’ lives, for the sake of greed; they failed to follow industry standards for environmental safety because they knew they could get away with it. Learning about this issue has certainly piqued my interest in environmental remediation and pollution and the role of corruption and lobbying in international affairs.
Ecuador’s oil sector accounts for over half of the country’s export earnings and about 40% of public sector revenues. However, there has been debate over the past few decades over how and to what extent the resource should be utilized. Ecuador is the smallest producer in OPEC; due to a lack of refining infrastructure in the country, oil revenues have been limited by a need to import refined products. Oil represents 79% of the country’s total energy consumption- much higher than hydroelectric power, natural gas, and other non-hydro renewable energy sources.
A coupled introduction of renewable energy sources and ecotourism might be the best way to break Ecuador’s oil dependency. The country depends on the petroleum industry for both income and energy; ecotourism and renewable energy could replace oil in both of these areas, although the replacement process would obviously be easier said than done. |
The question of whether or not the oil industry has benefited Ecuador has been debated extensively over the past few decades. Until 2001, the issue of petroleum extraction had been mostly contained in the Oriente. But, with the construction of the country’s second trans-national oil pipeline, it became a national concern. This has culminated in the formation of complex relationships between ecoresistors/dependents, indigenous peoples, ecoimperialists, the state, and the oil industry; these have led to a variety of conflicts within Ecuador. Ecoresistors’ and ecoimperialists’ views differ when it comes to social justice and human/indigenous rights. The oil industry’s view differs from that of the ecoimperialist & ecoresistors/dependents when it comes to environmental issues. The state- Ecuador’s government- is caught in the middle of it all; it has to somehow find a balance between economic growth and social justice in a way that will lead towards sustainable development.
This essay bears a strong resemblance to Ecuador’s Environmental Revolutions. Whether it’s oil extraction, deforestation, or the introduction of invasive species- Ecuador’s environmental issues can all be traced back to the country’s struggle to achieve sustainable development. I hope that by visiting the country and learning about some of these issues first-hand, we will all gain a better understanding of the difficulties surrounding sustainable development, and one day put that knowledge to use. |
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