Does the world have a coresponsibility for natural wonders like the Amazon rainforest

SugarHigh

Ecuador have claimed if the international community don't pay them 3.5 billion(Half of what they would get if they drilled) they will start drilling for oil in the Amazon rain forest. The ITT section where they want to start drilling apparently has more biodiversity in each square mile than all of N.America combined. The ITT represents 20% of Ecuador's oil reserves and could provide the world with 10 days oil supply.

Their argument is that the protection of the rain forest is part of a co-responsibility the world has and therefore we should pay to protect it. Is this blackmail?

Germany has already signed a deal to offer $50 million per year over 12 years and Ital has apparently donated $30 million through some debt swapping mechanism.

There is already drilling operations in the Ecuadorian part of the rain forest and Ecuador fined chevron $9bn for dumping oil there.

I'm not sure where I stand. I don't like the idea of having to pay a country to prevent them from destroying their own resource but at the same time it's a very important part of the planet. It is home to some of the oldest wildlife thanks to the fact it avoided the ice age and is too important to risk an oil spill. There are also the way of life of local tribes that deserve to be considered which would be affected by even relatively clean drilling.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/03/us-ecuador-oil-yasuni-idUSTRE6724S820100803
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10861415
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12521702

Permabear

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caseyann

The governments who backed the deforestation and earned off it are to blame so yes those should pay.

edwinkane

why would drilling for oil necessarily have much impact on the overall habitat or bio diversity? Is it not possible to drill for oil and keep much of the overall habitat and bio diversity?

Why is it assumed that drilling for oil would be like a nuclear bomb and destroy the habitat for hundreds of miles around?

CATSEYES8787

As far as I know, Chevron/Texaco were present in the area from the 70s to early 90s and then got kicked out of Ecuador for dumping oil, polluting rivers and soils which raised the rate of cancers and death. Then the national oil company PetroEcuador took over and have been using the (obsolete) oil plants from Texaco since then. So my question would be more what kind of action does Ecuador intend to take with all the money raised: will it be invested in renewable energy research (algae fuel, biodiesel, PPO)/manufacture of solar panels and wind turbines for instance?

djdrobins

Catseyes - the notion that any country which has a resource like oil, would re-invest it is a non-runner.
Countries like that - which are blackmailing other countries (can't be clearer - give us money or we kill the planet), have no intention of doing the right thing. They are in it for the money - for their fat wallets, and their fast cars and there idea that if they match the west etc with lifestyle they might somehow be respected more.
It is a different mind set - they still are not excepting that the earth is in trouble, that climate change is just a natural cycle, and that when the oil is gone - well - they'll just find more. It's down to education - or in this case - lack of!
I know I might get in trouble for saying it, but when a country says something as stupid as give us money or we will start drilling the oil, the brain is not connected to the head, its connected to the wallet in the back pocket - and everything else in that area!!
I hate that fact that 200 years ago or so - things weren't this bad! Amazing how for thousands of years before we got here, before we got lazy, started driving, and flying, and feeling the need to build machines - we got on fine.

Millions of year to make oil - and 2 mins to burn it running to the shop for the paper!

djpbarry

CATSEYES8787 wrote: »

As far as I know, Chevron/Texaco were present in the area from the 70s to early 90s and then got kicked out of Ecuador for dumping oil, polluting rivers and soils which raised the rate of cancers and death.

Do you have a source for that please?

djdrobins wrote: »

It is a different mind set - they still are not excepting that the earth is in trouble, that climate change is just a natural cycle, and that when the oil is gone - well - they'll just find more. It's down to education - or in this case - lack of!

Just to be clear – you’re saying that the entire nation of Ecuador is uneducated?

Amateurish

djpbarry wrote: »

Do you have a source for that please?
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2010/2010-04-07-01.html
those evil farmers will stop at nothing to obstruct a friendly oil company
and the nytimes might be more credible so
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/global/15chevron.html