Pollution in the Amazon

The Amazon is an area of South America best known for its diverse rainforest, lush jungles and one of the largest rivers in the world.  (See picture above.)

Chevron is one of the world's six "supermajor" oil companies and it operates in more than 180 countries.

For the last 17 years, the South American country of Ecuador has been trying to get Chevron to clean up environmental damage in the Amazon caused by .  This damage is said to be the world's second largest environmental disaster other than the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

What kind of damage?

* Pollution to large areas of the Ecuadoran jungle
* Up to 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater dumped into waterways
* Up to 17 million gallons of crude oil contained in unlined pits

What were the results of this damage?

* Death of food crops and livestock (farm animals)
* Increased health problems like skin disease and cancer
* An estimated $27 billion in damages

A legal battle as been going on for almost two decades and recently a judge ordered the company to pay at least $8.6 billion in damages.

Chevron has stated that it has no plans to provide any money at all for cleanup.  Ecuador does not have the same laws as the United States about protecting the environment and so it will be very difficult to force Chevron to pay any money at all!

If you or I made a big mess, we'd have to clean it up!  Why does a giant oil company get away with it?

OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

On April 20, an oil-drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico called Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana.  The rig sank and 11 people were killed in the explosion.  The accident is said to be the largest oil spill disaster in the history of the United States.

Like many Americans, I am very sad about this disaster and extremely worried about the damage it will cause.  Normally, I like to post helpful hints about how we can all go green, but sadly, I this is not one of those entries.  But it's still important to be informed.  Some of you may be wondering what are some of the possible results of this oil spill?  Here are some ways an oil spill can affect wildlife:

* Oil coats the bodies of animals with a thick layer.
* Fur or feathers covered in oil become sticky which can lead to hypothermia.
* Birds can drown when covered in oil because they're bodies become too heavy.
* Animals may become easy prey because they are easier to catch.
* Birds and marine mammals will not necessarily avoid an oil spill.
* Some fish are actually attracted to the oil because it looks like floating food.
* More than 400 species of animals are at risk because of this event.
* Stomach ulcers and bleeding can occur in animals that swallow the oil.
* Damage to airways and lungs of animals that breath droplets of oil or gas.
* Since April 30, 19 dead dolphins have been found in the spill area.
* Oil disguises the scent that seal pups and mothers use to recognize each other.
* Beaches affected by an oil spill can disturb turtle breeding areas or contaminate eggs.
* On May 24, a fisheries disaster was declared in 3 states.
* Fisherman have been taken to hospitals because of "nausea, dizziness and chest pains."
* Oil in the water decreases oxygen supply to small fish, which can affect the entire food chain.

This is NOT what our oceans should look like!

IS WATER A RENEWABLE RESOURCE?

The answer to this question is not as simple as you might think.  Yes, water evaporates and then returns to earth as precipitation (rain, fog, snow, etc.) and the same water animals drank 6 million years ago is the same water we drink today!  But this doesn't mean that wasting water is okay.  Water conservation is becoming an increasingly important issue! 

Did you know though that only 3% of the earth's water is freshwater?  The other 97% is ocean water, which is undrinkable.  Of all the water in the world, almost half of it is polluted in some way.  Polluted water can lead to disease and death and cause things like acid rain.

Did you know that over 1 billion people on the planet do not have access to clean drinking water?  As the population of the planet grows, this problem will increase since the amount of freshwater we have will always remain the same.  Groundwater cannot replenish itself at the rate we remove it from the earth.  Global climate change has also contributed to water shortages in places where lack of precipitation has caused drought and too much precipitation has caused flooding which makes the water unsuitable for consumption.

Another reason to be mindful of water conservation is energy consumption.  Heating the water you need for a shower or bath takes energy and every drop of water that goes down the drain must be cleaned at a water treatment plant, which also takes energy.

Like all issues having to do with the environment, we often don't seem to be concerned with a resource as long as it seems abundant.  In the United States, we have an ample amount of freshwater because of the number of lakes and streams.  In other parts of the world however, the amount of water we would use to take one 2-3 minute shower is the same amount of water an entire family uses to cook, clean, and drink for an entire week.

Think twice before you waste water and learn what can be done to keep water from becoming polluted!

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?

This is a word I’ve been hearing a lot lately.  But what does it mean?  According to World Commission on Environment and Development, sustainable development is defined as “the ability of humanity to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

What are some things we do today that will negatively affect the kids of tomorrow?  Polluting the air with greenhouse gases, polluting the soil and water with landfill, polluting oceans by dumping garbage, threatening sea life by overfishing, threatening water supplies by spilling harmful chemicals, wasting natural resources, relying on energy sources that damage our environment, and the list goes on.

Ancient tribes of people, like the Native Americans here in this country, lived in a way that was sustainable.  For example, Native American tribes would use every part of an animal after they killed it so that no part was wasted.  These people believed that humans must live together peacefully with nature instead of dominating it—or worse yet, destroying it.

Here are some basic rules for how to live sustainably, provided by environmentalist Paul Hawken:

·      Leave the world better than you found it.

·      Don’t take more than you need.

·      Try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do.

Right now, there are many things we are used to doing and buying that are unsustainable.  The older we get, the more we will see sustainable products and sustainable ways of life becoming available.  But how can we make sustainability popular?  Isn’t it easier to keep things the way they are?  Will you be a kid who looks for these new advances?  Are you able to recognize things you do every day that may be unsustainable?