Black Gold: Amazonian Petroleum Contamination
I lived in the Ecuadorian Amazon with the Cofan and Secoya indigenous nationalities in 2015-2016 studying the impacts of petroleum exploitation on health and culture. Through interviews, surveys, and living day-to-day in communities, I learned how detrimental Chevron Texaco’s oil operations (from the 1960s to the 1990s) were not only in terms of environmental and human health impacts, but also on indigenous knowledge systems. Since water was polluted, the Cofan and Secoya were forced to incorporate themselves in occidental society to earn money to pay for water and food and medicines. The spiritual life was also impacted.
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Interview excerpt translated, Cofan Elder, 2016
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The Texaco-Chevron case is one of the most significant lawsuits in environmental history. From 1964 to 1992, Chevron’s predecessor Texaco Inc. produced over one billion barrels of crude oil in the Ecuadorian Amazon (Sawyer, 2004). In twenty-eight years, Texaco created thousands of kilometers of seismic grids, drilled 339 oil wells, built 18 production facilities, and abandoned between 800 and 1000 open waste pits (Buccina et al., 2014; Sawyer, 2014). Representatives of 30,000+ local Ecuadorian plaintiffs claim that the oil giant made “strategic decisions to maximize corporate profits,” which risked the lives of local indigenous people and thoroughly contaminated the environment (Cely, 2014). Defendants, by contrast, claim that the multinational was acting completely within the legal system, pointing to the Ecuadorian state as guilty of encouraging such outcomes. A few months ago, after a 22+ year legal battle, indigenous groups received a long-awaited favorable ruling holding the oil giant accountable to paying $9.5 billion in reparation costs (Mongabay, 2018; Korovkin, 2002). Time will tell if this ruling will withstand pressure.
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I am not a lawyer, and I am not interested in legal loopholes or courtrooms. I am much more concerned with the human rights implications of neoliberal globalization and impacts on indigenous knowledge. Although the Texaco-Chevron case has been called the "Amazonian Chernobyl," it is not unique. Realistically, yes, it is exciting that this massive effort to take on a hugely imposing multinational company may finally prove fruitful, and it can teach us a lot about social movements. But the ruling of the case does not somehow un-do the environmental and cultural damage done, and it does not suddenly change the structural inequalities inherent in economic determinism.
Instead of focusing on the case, then, I am creating a book which will serve as a platform for those impacted by extractive industries in the Global South to reach consumers in the Global North. I conducted 40+ interviews and 40+ health surveys during my time living in these communities, and I want to share interview excerpts and photographs. This book does not and will not take a stance on the highly complex 20-year legal case between the multinational and 30,000 Ecuadorian plaintiffs, since the complexities of the law are beyond the breadth of my knowledge. But it will strive to get people thinking about inequalities we may unintentionally be supporting by allowing multinational corporations to act without oversight in the Global South. |
Economic determinism effectively disregards all that is not related to monetary growth, equating development to increased cash flows. 50 years ago there were 6,000 languages spoken on the planet and now there are 3,000. We are losing sustainable indigenous knowledge systems at a rate so fast it is known as "cultural genocide" in academic circles. Ecuador’s development plans revolve around the destruction of the Amazon rainforest; petroleum income raises GDP levels. Protecting the most biodiverse region on the planet and preserving indigenous knowledge systems does not appear in economic indicators of development. We need a massive paradigm shift which re-configures and re-imagines the economic determinism of our increasingly globalized world before we lose all sustainable ways of knowing. That is my argument.
I welcome disagreement. I welcome others to contribute their ideas. As long as we start a dialogue about these important issues, I consider the outcome of this project a success.
I welcome disagreement. I welcome others to contribute their ideas. As long as we start a dialogue about these important issues, I consider the outcome of this project a success.
I have taken hundreds of photographs and have hours of videotaped/audio-recorded interviews. I hope to make this publically available soon, or even create a short documentary film. Time will tell. Please contact me if you are interested in reading my community placement report.
The experience would not have been possible without UDAPT – Unión de Afectados por Texaco, the organization I was interning with which allowed me to pursue this project. Big thanks also to Trent University's International Development department for offering the Ecuador year abroad.
The experience would not have been possible without UDAPT – Unión de Afectados por Texaco, the organization I was interning with which allowed me to pursue this project. Big thanks also to Trent University's International Development department for offering the Ecuador year abroad.