[Most Recent Entries] [Calendar View] [Friends]
Below are the 1 most recent journal entries recorded in
bigoil445's InsaneJournal:
| Friday, December 26th, 2008 | |
| 2:45 pm | Peru Goes Beneath the Shell ` The highland forests near this tiny, remote indigenous village in central Peru's Urabamba region are abuzz every day with several large, black ex-army Chinook helicopters, Soviet-designed Antonov aircraft and an Angolan hovercraft named the Manta. Such commotion is a recent development. The Machiguenga peoples have hunted and fished here for 5,000 years. Close by live the Kugapakori peoples, who have lived in fierce, self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world. Below the forests is a gas field which the oil giant multinational Shell has named Camisea. Shell geologists estimate Camisea contains 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 600 million barrels of liquid natural gas, enough fuel to meet the capital city of Lima's energy needs for a century. The company has already drilled a first well to tap the area's riches, and it plans on drilling three more. Shell says it is taking great pains to design a model of environmental management and local participation. It has also welcomed input from interested observers or experts. "We need criticism from the outside," says Alan Hunt, the chief executive of Shell in Peru. The company is especially sensitive following blistering international criticism in the last two years of its Nigerian operations. Shell's oil drilling in the Niger delta has caused massive environmental destruction, and the company has closely associated itself with the Nigerian government, which has brutally suppressed the region's Ogoni people, including with weapons purchased by Shell. SHELL AS GOOD NEIGHBOR Shell first worked in this region more than a decade ago when it drilled a series of wells in an effort to find petroleum. The company withdrew in 1986 when it found only natural gas and failed to strike an agreement with the Peruvian government. Local leaders allege that, at the time, Shell contract workers abused local women. Human rights activists and environmentalists say that the Shell operations attracted outside loggers who brought diseases that killed a major part of another indigenous community of Nahua peoples who have lived in isolation for centuries. This time around, the company says that it will obtain the permission of local people before doing any work; it will not build any roads, so as to prevent the intrusion of settlers, loggers or miners; it will forbid hunting and fishing by all staff; it will employ the best available technology to ensure minimal pollution; and it will clean up every last scrap of waste. The company has hired the Smithsonian Institute in Washington to map local plants, mammals, insects and aquatic systems at each clearing. To prevent social problems Shell has hired one of the leading experts on the local indigenous peoples, Peruvian anthropologist Alonso Zarzar, to help the company work with the communities. Zarzar has prepared detailed guidelines for Shell and has conducted workshops to ensure that the company's 360 local and expatriate contract workers do not violate local customs or engage in disruptive practices. Shell is also seeking to ensure that all its workers and visitors are vaccinated against diseases that might spread to local communities. To reduce its impact on surrounding forests, the company delivers all its supplies by plane or barge to Nuevo Mundo, a small riverside village. Here, 300 contract workers are completing a new airport and a command center for the company's work in the region. From Nuevo Mundo, smaller craft transport materials to the wellheads, which are two days upriver or a short helicopter ride away. At the wellheads, several hours walk from the nearest river, giant yellow earth movers have begun to excavate hill sides. Eventually, the company plans to build a pipeline through the forests and over the Andes to Lima, approximately 500 kilometers to the west, and perhaps another pipeline to Cuzco. There is also talk of transporting the gas to Bolivia, where it could be piped to Brazilian metropolises such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro through a pipeline being built by Texas-based Enron. The kinder, gentler Shell's efforts notwithstanding, charges of environmental damage have already trickled in, even before any natural gas has been pumped out of the ground. Peruvian activists also say that despite the hiring of a leading anthropologist, local people have no idea of what is happening at the drilling site or what future operations might involve. The people of Cashiriari started complaining shortly after Shell set up operations late last year. One villager, Pilar Vargas, says that the Cashiriari River, which is normally chocolate-brown, now occasionally turns black. "We also have trouble hunting and fishing," she says. "It took us just two hours to hunt for animals before the operations began. Now, it takes a day and a half" due to the decline in wildlife. One possible explanation, suggested by an environmentalist visiting the area, is that, apart from a few token trees, Shell has no erosion controls on its operations, which are situated in the headwaters of the Cashiriari and Camisea rivers. Other Shell representatives say that animal scarcity may reflect human population pressures. A Shell ecologist, "I don't want to say that our helicopters and cutting operations are not having an impact, because it is clear they do have some impact. Environmentalists say that the current problems are minor compared to what will occur when Shell begins the actual extraction of natural gas. The company will simply extract test quantities of gas over the next two years, and hopes to begin full-scale production by the end of the century. Waste material from the wells could contain heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, which are highly toxic. It could also contain suspected carcinogens, including poly-aromatic hydrocarbons. Natural gas escaping from the well may have to be burnt off in massive flares, while pressurized gas pipelines run the risk of explosions-not infrequent occurrences even in countries like the United States where the industry uses the best available technology. To date, however, the company has not conducted safety audits of its operations. Nor is it equipped to deal with any major catastrophe. A small indication of what might happen in the future occurred this February when Shell staff brought in fuel oil by barge to Nuevo Mundo for four new steel storage tanks at the base. Although the amount of oil being delivered was modest, five oil spills occurred in the river, and twice as many on land. One of the barges was taken out of service because of recurring problems. From the Nuevo Mundo base, the fuel oil is being transported to the wellhead in large tanks winched under the helicopters; these tanks routinely spill as they are dragged along the ground. Shell officials have a detailed emergency response plan on paper, but they do not have professional clean-up equipment such as skimmers, booms and buckets available. Nor does the company have any professional staff here to respond to emergencies. After the February spills, local people were pressed into emergency service, using makeshift equipment to mop up the mess. Contaminated soil was dug up and stored on site. Workers say that when it rains, rainbow sheens run through the soil. FOSTERING DIVISIONS The local communities, which have never experienced these problems before, are not quite sure where to turn. In exchange for the two hectares of land for the first well in Armihuari, the company has promised the village of Cashiriari that it will supply electricity for three communal houses, as well as tin roofs and medicines. (similar to glass beads given to the Indians in New York, in order to steal Manhattan Island ) The land-use agreement (Shell admits that it has used more than agreed initially) does not guarantee any compensation in case of accident, contamination of the local rivers, or destruction of the forests. Tomas Vargas, the treasurer of the village who also runs the local health clinic, argues that the company representatives took advantage of the local community, which did not realize it could ask for any of those guarantees. Nuevo Mundo is receiving little more than Cashiriari. Shell has agreed to pay the community $1,600 a month for the right to construct an airport to receive flights directly from Lima to service the company's operations center situated next to the village. Shell arranged the Nuevo Mundo deal with Alquilino Rios, a local leader. Other local leaders, including Efrain Barazo and Job Korinti from the neighboring village of Kirigueti, have bitterly criticized the agreement. They suspect the company of making plans to encroach on their territory. "The Shell maps showing the territory of Nuevo Mundo include an old gas well called Mipaya that is on our land," says Korinti. Shell officials, however, say they have no immediate plans to exploit Mipaya. Doris Balvin, a Peruvian environmental lawyer who tracks the impact of mining operations, says that the compensation packages amount to little more than Christmas presents. In January, she visited the communities around Camisea and translated Shell's maps from English to Spanish for local leaders like Tomas Vargas. "If Shell really wanted to work with the communities, why have they not provided them with enough information?" The agreement was signed in a hurry and the local people had no chance to consult a lawyer," she says. Meanwhile, the activities of Shell have exacerbated existing divisions among the Machiguenga, who have traditionally been represented by rival organizations. (divide and conquer) The villages of Camisea, Nuevo Mundo and Segakiato are represented by the Center for Native Machiguenga Communities, while the three other villages in the region-Cashiriari, Kirigueti, and Shivankoreni - are represented by the Council for the Machiguenga People of the River Urabamba (COMARU). ~ Sustainable Technology TRAINING for WOMEN http://sarahteach.livejournal.com/2 http://vegcar.livejournal.com http://www.electric-cars-are-for-gi http://www.electric-cars-are-for-gi book: Unlocking the Secrets to Living Your Dreams; by Jack Canfield book: Positive Imaging, The Powerful Way to Change Your Life; by Norman Vincent Peale SolFocus Aims to Beat Coal with Solar Concentrators http://air302.livejournal.com SOLAR Heated SWIMMING POOL, Spa, Hot Tub http://www.fafco.com http://www.solargenix.com http://www.canadiansolartechnologie ` HEATPUMP Heated SWIMMING POOL, Spa, Hot Tub http://heatpump301.livejournal.com Eat LOCAL Organc Foods save energy http://www.localharvest.org http://www.organicconsumers.org http://www.greenpeople.org http://www.eatwellguide.org http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/localfo http://www.biodynamics.com http://www.coopamerica.org http://www.localsustainability.net http://livabilityproject.org http://www.sustainabletable.org http://foodchoice.livejournal.com http://www.startnow.org http://www.harvestcanada.com Proverb: Good Food is Good Medicine. <> Garbage in, garbage out. Why be Sick? eat Local Fresh Organic food http://adhd101.livejournal.com http://organic4school.livejournal.c http://adhd103.livejournal.com http://www.organicconsumers.org http://sarahteach.livejournal.com/1 http://remineral.livejournal.com http://communitygard.livejournal.co http://greenhouse101.livejournal.co http://wattsgarden.livejournal.com http://urbanag101.livejournal.com http://backyard2farm.livejournal.co http://studentfarm.livejournal.com GARDENING for VICTORY http://victory2garden.livejournal.c JOURNEY to FOREVER http://www.journeytoforever.org SOLAR HOSPITALS http://solar2hospital.livejournal.c HOME POWER http://www.homepower.com SOLAR TODAY http://solartoday.org http://solarstate3.livejournal.com Solar Industry NEWS http://www.seia.org http://vegcar.livejournal.com/10759.htm http://www.solarbuzz.com http://solarstate2.livejournal.com Solar Industry MAGAZINE http://www.solarindustrymag.com VEGETABLE Oil Cars http://plantdrive.com http://vegcar.livejournal.com/24209.htm http://vegcar.livejournal.com/24451.htm http://vegcar.livejournal.com/25641.htm http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/he Convert GAS Cars to Plug-In ELECTRIC Autos http://www.electroauto.com http://www.kta-ev.com http://www.nedra.com http://www.evparts.com http://www.sourceguides.com/energy DVD: Convert It http://www.electroauto.com Links: http://vegcar.livejournal.com/5593.h ` Convert HYBRID Cars to Plug-In ELECTRIC Autos http://www.calcars.org http://www.hybrids-plus.com http://www.rqriley.com/xr3.htm http://www.eaa-phev.org/wiki/PriusPlus Recharge your Electric Auto with RENEWABLE ENERGY http://www.bergey.com http://www.bwea.com http://www.vestas.com http://www.awea.org http://solarenergy.org http://greendragonenergy.co.uk http://www.lowimpact.org http://www.scoraigwind.com http://www.greenempowerment.org http://www.grupofenix.org http://www.solarliving.org http://www.arthaonline.com http://www.the-mrea.org http://www.txses.org http://www.irenew.org http://www.nmsea.org http://www.azsolarcenter.com http://www.microhydropower.com http://www.newenergycorp.ca http://www.canyonhydro.com http://wattsun.com http://www.lorentz.de http://www.etsolar.de http://www.solargenix.com http://solar.sharpusa.com http://solren.com http://www.spirecorp.com http://pickensplan101.livejournal.c http://wind2air101.livejournal.com/8 http://www.windpower.org http://www.sourceguides.com/energy http://www.ises.org http://www.firstsolar.com http://www.rmi.org http://www.sourceguides.com/energy LOCAL Groups Supporting ELECTRIC AUTOmobiles http://solargroup.livejournal.com http://solarstate2.livejournal.com http://vegcar.livejournal.com/5672.h http://www.zapworld.com http://www.sourceguides.com/energy http://www.green-car-guide.com SOLAR BOATS - SHIPS http://solar2boat.livejournal.com http://solar3boat.livejournal.com Electric MOTORCYCLES http://motorcycle2.livejournal.com http://motorcycle4.livejournal.com http://evt2scooter.livejournal.com http://www.solarmobil.net http://motorcycle5.livejournal.com http://www.e-max-ltd.com http://www.topmotorx.com http://www.patente-erfindungen.de/erfin http://www.zeromotorcycles.com http://www.sourceguides.com/energy Electric BICYCLES http://nycewheels.com http://www.myebike.com http://e2bike.livejournal.com http://vegcar.livejournal.com/1647.h http://www.cyclone-tw.com http://www.powacycle.co.uk http://www.electricbikesales.co.uk http://egovehicles.com http://www.electricbicycle.com.au http://www.evehicle.com.au http://www.electric-bicycle.cn http://www.greenspeed.us http://www.sourceguides.com/energy TAX CREDITS http://www.dsireusa.org SOLAR ENERGY INTELLIGENCE More Jobs, Economic Progress, Clean Environment Why be Stupid? http://solomonintel.livejournal.com/129 http://solarstate2.livejournal.com http://solarstate3.livejournal.com ~ Per the Sustainable Industries Journal, the Pentagon has blocked the construction of 16 Wind Energy sites in the USA. The military claims the Wind Farms are a threat to national security. Maybe the Wind Farms are a threat to Big Oil and Big Coal? HOW STUPID ARE AMERICANS? http://pickensplan101.livejournal.c FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMIC DISASTER http://ovl.indymedia.org/news/2008/06/2 http://argentina.indymedia.org/news/200 ~ book: Tyranny of Oil; by Antonia Juhasz book: Halliburton Agenda - The Politics of Oil and Moneyl; by Dan Briody book: Cronies - Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas; by Dan Briody book: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man; by John Perkins book: Economic Gangsters; Ray Fisman book: Sound Truth and Corporate Myth - The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill; by Riki Ott book: Poisoned Wells - The Dirty Politics Of African Oil; by Leandre Poisson book: Justice Under Siege; by Eva Joly book: Texas Oil and the New Deal; by Steve Isser book: Corruption In Iraq & World; by Vance Jochim book: Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country; by Laton Mccartney book: Untapped - The Scramble for Africa's Oil; by John Ghazvinian book: Eating Fossil Fuel - Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture; by Dale Allen Pfeiffe book: Blood and Oil; by Michael Klare book: Backstabbing for Beginners; by Michael Soussan book: A Culture of Corruption; by Daniel Jordan Smith book: THE RISE, CORRUPTION AND COMING FALL OF THE HOUSE OF SAUD; by Said K. Aburish book: Greed and corruption in the Caspian; by Derek Brower book: Corporate Corruption - The Abuse of Power; by Marshall B. Clinard report: All the Presidents’ Men - The Devastating Story of Oil and Banking in Angola’s Privatised War; by Global Witness book: Curse of the Black Gold - 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta; by Michael Watts book: Crude - The Story of Oil; by Sonia Shah book: Where Vultures Feast: Shell, Human Rights and Oil; by Ike Okonta book: The Prize - The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power; by Daniel Yergin book: A Game as Old as Empire - The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption; by Steven Hiatt book: Blood Bankers; by James S. Henry book: Grand Theft Pentagon - Tales of Corruption and Profiteering in the War on Terror; by Jeffrey St. Clair book: Oil and the Glory - The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea; by Steve LeVine book: Indonesian Production Sharing Contract, an investor's perspective; by T. N. Machmud book: Grand corruption in the regulation of oil; by Tina Soreide book: Oil on the Brain; by Lisa Margonelli book: Many Faces of Corruption; by J. Edgardo Campos http://www.thebushagenda.net Pure, clean air is the invisible staff of life. Smog is the invisible staff of death. book: Super Power Breathing for Super Energy and Longevity; by Patricia Bragg Does Big OIL or Big COAL have a Body BAG with your CHILD'S Name on it? http://vegcar.livejournal.com/24663.htm http://air301.livejournal.com http://air309.livejournal.com book: Big Coal, The Dirty Secret; by Jeff Goodell OIL - GAS REFINERIES = DIRTY AIR & DEATH http://www.refineryreform.org GENERAL MOTORS and the NAZIS War Profits at any cost - Auschwitz - Death Camps - Slave Labor Is there any difference between the Neo Nazis and the American Neo Conservatives? ARE YOU DRIVING A GM HITLER CAR? DVD: Who Killed the Electric Car? http://www.amazon.com/Who-Killed-Electr http://vegcar.livejournal.com/24209.htm book: Internal Combustion; by Edwin Black http://www.internalcombustionbook.c WHY DID GENERAL MOTORS DESTROY ELECTRIC CARS http://www.saveev1.org http://www.dontcrush.com NAZIS in the AMERICAN MILITARY Defense Fund for Freedom from the Extremist - please donate. Keep the Nuts away from the Nukes - Book of Revelation. George Bush and the End of the World Death Cult society of america - KKK http://bigoil600036.insanejournal.c http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.o CRIMES AGAINST NATURE DICK CHENEY Made Millions with SADDAM HUSSEIN Enemies of Democracy http://bigoil431.insanejournal.com SHOCKING CORRUPTION by BIG OIL http://bigoil101.insanejournal.com DO WE HAVE TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION? Are your politicians taking Bribes - campaign contributions - from Big Oil and the Drug Companies? Is your Congressman a Drug Pusher for the Pharmaceutical Companies? Halt the incestuous relationship of sleazy politicians in bed with Big Oil. CAMPAIGN FINANCE INFORMATION CENTER Where does the money come from? http://www.campaignfinance.org/stat CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY stop the Fat Cats from BRIBING your politicians http://www.publicintegrity.org DVD: Capitol Crimes by Bill Moyers The fall of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff has exposed what may be one of the biggest political scandals in America's history. What does the dizzying scope of corruption say about how laws are made and who really owns the U.S. government? Bill Moyers and his team of investigative journalists untangle the web of relationships, secret deals, and political manipulation to open a disturbing window on the dark side of American politics. stop ELECTION FRAUD, support Honest elections. www.blackboxvoting.org www.verifiedvoting.org www.votevets.org mediamatters.org www.investigatethevote.org www.votersunite.org www.citizensact.org www.solarbus.org/election/cd/test/videos.h www.sourcewatch.org/index.php state info: http://victorygard379b.insanejournal.co DVD: Uncounted; Director: David Earnhardt DVD: Hacking Democracy; Director: Simon Ardizzone book: What Went Wrong In Ohio; by Congressman John Conyers book: What Happened in Ohio; by Bob Fitrakis VOTE SOLAR http://votesolar.org http://votesolar.livejournal.com http://www.seia.org http://solarstate2.livejournal.com IS GOD GREEN book: Care of Creation; by R. J. Berry book: Serve God, Save the Planet; by J. Matthew Sleeth book: Our Father's World; by Edward R Brown book: Redeeming Creation; by Fred Van Dyke book: Earth-Wise; by Calvin B. Dewitt book: Caring for Creation; Edited by Sarah Tillett book: A Moral Climate, the Ethics of Global Warming; by Michael S. Northcott book: For the Beauty of the Earth; by Steven Bouma-Prediger book: Saving God's Green Earth; by Tri Robinson book: God Is Green; by Ian Bradley book: God in Creation; by Jurgen Moltmann journal: Creation Care Magazine http://www.creationcare.org Keepers of the Earth. IS GOD GREEN? http://solarafrica307.livejournal.c `  ~ POLLUTION and RACISM, INJUSTICE book: Confronting Environmental Racism; by Robert Bullard book: Environmental Injustices; by David Camacho book: Environmentalism and Economic Justice; by Laura Pulido book: Pollution and the Death of Man; by Francis Schaeffer book: From the Ground Up, Environmental Racism; by Luke Cole book: Struggle for Ecological Democracy; by Daniel Faber book: No Safe Place, Toxic Waste and Community Action; by Phil Brown Bush slams Christians, Bunch of NUTS http://bigoil600037.insanejournal.c book: Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction; author: David Kuo Republican Child Molesters and Pedophiles http://bigoil600039.insanejournal.c Homosexuals for Republicans & George Bush http://bigoil600038.insanejournal.c WINE INDUSTRY ANNIHILATED by GLOBAL WARMING http://www.ukfreepages.co.uk/publish/pa Global Warming Destroys Maple Sugar Industry STOP CLIMATE CHAOS and the DESTRUCTION of the POOR http://www.itdg.org/?id=stopclimatechao http://campaigncc.org http://stopclimatechaos.org BIG OIL MAIN PAGE http://bigoil101.insanejournal.com GENERAL LINKS http://vegcar.livejournal.com/25537.htm ~ Proverb: A good person leaves an inheritance to their children’s children. What kind of inheritance are you leaving? ~  ` book: Miracle of Tithing; by Mark Victor Hansen http://tithing101.livejournal.com book: You Can If You Think You Can; by Norman Vincent Peale You never really lose until you quit trying. Mike Ditka NFL Football Coach DVD: Facing the Giants; director: Alex Kendrick BOLD SPIRIT http://bolderspirit.livejournal.com ~ I CAN DO (be) all things thru God who strengthens me. ~ Where there is no way, God can make a way. ~ With God all things are possible. ~ Whatever things you so desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. ~ The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. He gives power to the weak. To those who have no might, He increases their strength. To those who wait on the Lord, He shall Renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. ~ ~ book: Unlocking the Secrets to Living Your Dreams; by Jack Canfield book: Amazing Results of Positive Thinking; by Norman Vincent Peale book: Miracle of Fasting, for Physical, Mental and Spiritual Rejuvenation; by Patricia Bragg book: Fasting Can Save Your Life; by Doctor Herbert Shelton book: Super Power Breathing for Super Energy and Longevity; by Patricia Bragg book: Coconut Cures; by Bruce Fife book: Healing Power for the Heart; by Robert Abel http://adhd101.livejournal.com http://organic4school.livejournal.c http://em202.livejournal.com your HEALTH (Wholeness) is your WEALTH ~ book: Rwanda, The Land God Forgot; by Meg Guillebaud DVD: In Lies We Trust; director: Dr. Leonard George Horowitz ~ Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves. Choose to BE A WINNER. Be a bringer of the LIGHT. `  Earth Praise God. Be Thankful. Give God the Glory. |