Yasuní

This past weekend we went on our first “salida del campo” to Yasuní National Park (in the Ecuadorian Amazon). Most of the time we stayed at the Research Center and went on many, many walks through the jungle, seeing a few too many spiders and bugs and (eeek) a boa constrictor outside of my room… It was quite an experience to feel so small in the jungle, to feel so much life pressing in all the time and to realize I know so very little about the natural world we live in. Although, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t happy to come back to the concrete jungle of Quito where I have to be more afraid of getting hit by a car than bitten by a mosquito with malaria or getting one of these up my urethra.

For me, the most memorable and heartbreaking part of the trip was the very first day. We visited Lago Agrio with the director of Acción Ecologica and a local activist to see the contamination caused by Texaco and PetroEcuador. To get the oil from the ground there are two other unwanted products – gas and formation water. To get rid of the gas the petroleras burn it 24/7 in these huge towers. At night the light attracts insects and birds and during the day you can see dead insects all around the foot of the tower. Just standing anywhere near it you can feel the oppressive heat.

 

[Photo courtesy of Kate Sinnot and her magnificent photography skillz]

Formation water is incredibly old salty water with heavy metals and radioactive qualities from deep within the ground. It seeps into the water and contaminates all the water of the region. The radioactive products accumulate in the fish, and when a bigger fish eats a little one it accumulates more and more until eventually a person eats that fish and accumulates all that radioactivity as well.

All the water of the region is contaminated, leading to “invisible” problems of cancer, skin issues, abortions and babies born with deformations. For a long while, people didn’t know that their water was contaminated. Now, even if they know, there isn’t much they can do beside continue to grow their crops on contaminated land.  

It was really eery, driving for hours through the jungle and seeing these gas pipes following us along the side of the road for the entire time. 

And, as the man who let us (illegally) onto his own property to see the effects of the petrolera explained, people are completely economically dependent on the petrolera. As you can’t grow anything, you have to get a job with the petrolera and you can’t move because once you have contaminated land you can’t sell it.

It really reminded me of fracking and the issues it has caused at home, like contaminated water. The company will do the same thing – offer to pay some amount to make a road on your property and drill. They don’t compensate for accidents or for the contamination they cause. And if your neighbors buy into it then you get contaminated water too.

The big difference? Here you can’t even say no. If a property owner says no to the petrolera, they come in and start to drill anyway. Sometimes they release contaminated water at nighttime. The power that these petroleras hold is unbelievable. They are even allowed to drill in the Yasuní National Park and use their own police force because there isn’t a governmental one in the area. To get to and from the Research Center we had to go through petrolera controlled security checkpoints. The company is, in some ways, like its own state.  

An awkward moment arouse when the man who let us see his property asked the director where the company was from, found out it was from the US and that we, the students, were also from the US. He asked, “Why don’t they pay to fix it, then?”

And, to be honest, it’s a good question. But, just like Ecuadorian citizens do not pay directly for the damage their country does, we do not either. However, we all pay indirectly with pollution and contamination and governments that privilege companies over citizens' rights. Some, though, like the man who owns that land, pay much more than others.

And some of us, especially us Americans, benefit directly. It’s a confusing spot to be in – to be a citizen of a country that has horrifying practices and interventions in other countries and to oppose those, but feel powerless to do anything besides think about it, write about it and talk about it.