Lago
Agrio
Texaco dumped unusable waste without treatment. The savings helped
raised profit margins $3 per barrel. When Texaco left Ecuador in 1990,
they left behind a legacy of hundreds of open pits filled with hazardous
waste.
This Ecuador-Pristine Amazon rainforest is
crisscrossed with oil wells and pipeline grids
built by Texaco Inc. a generation ago
HUMAN ROLE(S)
Between 1964 and 1990, Texaco, which
was bought buy Chevron in 2001,
deliberately poured and leaked out over
30 billion gallons of toxic wastewater
and crude oil into areas surrounding the
Lago Agrio Oil Field
This is a man-made problem. This
economic disaster and cultural disruption
can be traced back to poorly made
decisions.
El Lago Agrio
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water pollution (WATER: common and essential resource)
soil contamination (heavy pollution which has hindered the people)
deforestation (the bottom of the trees rot)
cultural upheaval
a potential correlation with illness and disease
(cancer?) (controversy)
Anthropogenic Influence
Properly disposing of waste is extremely
expensive
As humans we look for an easy way out, so the
lake was a scapegoat for TEXACO, the
indigenous people were unaware and naive but
soon saw the effects the waste caused, and
continues to this day
known internationally for the
serious ecological problems
that oil development has
created there
Damage it caused: not only
contamination to the water and soil, but
also plants and wildlife AND AIR
(biotic and abiotic)
contaminating the water that was
used by the locals for fishing,
bathing, and drinking
WHAT HAPPENED?
There was a lawsuit, it continues to this day
TEXACO (now with Chevron) are trying to
wash their hands of blame
the case has been closed, (I’ll explain more)
The Lago Agrio fiasco is the epitome of a
nauseating fight between indigenous populations
and an oil company with bottomless pockets
What additional (if any) rules would you recommend to lower the risk
of future disasters of a like kind? (proactive approach)
Although it may cost a lot, companies must
invest in safer waste disposal and not just
focus on profit
EXTRA INFO (it’s a lot but very interesting)
Studies have shown that inhabitants of the effected Amazonian
area have elevated cancer rates 150% higher than controls.
But Chevron scientists horrifically campaign to disassociate
polluted ground water from cancer. They claim that the
hydrocarbons (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) found in the
ground water cannot be sufficiently isolated in studies so as to
rule out with 100% certainty that other environmental sources
don't cause the debilitating diseases. Chevron scientists call
studies that link the contamination and cancer “the product of
fraud and is contrary to the legitimate scientific evidence.”
Summary
(Explain a documentary I watched)
-a native person saw everything from the start
and pleads to have the problem remedied