…and the Amazon jungle; and stop Ecuador’s President from being a total hypocrite!
This courtesy of Avaaz: ———– Dear friends, There is one area of the Ecuadorian Amazon that is so pristine that the whole ecosystem has been preserved and even jaguars roam free! But the government is now threatening to go in and drill for oil. The local indigenous people have been resisting, but they are afraid that oil companies will break up the community with bribes. When they heard that people across the world might stand with them and make a stink to save their land, they were thrilled. The president of Ecuador claims to stand for indigenous rights and the environment, but he has just come up with a new plan to bring oil speculators in to 4 million hectares of jungle. If we can say ‘wait a minute, you’re supposed to be the green president who says no one can buy Ecuador’, we could expose him for turning his back on his commitments just as he is fighting for re-election. He doesn’t want a PR nightmare right now. If we get a million of us to help this one community defend their ancestral land and challenge the president openly to keep to his word, we could start a media storm that would make him reconsider the whole plan. Sign the petition now and tell everyone — let’s help save this beautiful forest: http://www.avaaz.org/en/oil_in_the_amazon_8/?tSkdncb After Texaco and other oil companies polluted Ecuadorian waters and irreversibly devastated precious ecosystems, Correa led his country to be the world’s first nation to recognize the rights of “Mother Earth” in its constitution. He announced Ecuador was not for sale, and in Yasuni National Park promoted an innovative initiative where other governments pay Ecuador to keep oil in the ground to protect the rainforest rather than destroy it. But now he’s on the verge of selling out. Shockingly, the Sani Isla Kichwa land is partly in Yasuni National Park. But even more shocking is Correa’s bigger plan — in days government officials begin a world tour to offer foreign investors the right to drill across 4 million hectares of forest (an area larger than the Netherlands!) Ecuador, as any country, may argue it has the right to profit from its natural resources, but the constitution itself says it must respect indigenous rights and its amazing forests, which bring millions in tourist dollars every year. Right now, Correa is in a tough fight to win a second term as president. It’s the perfect time to make him honour his environmental promises and make this green constitution come to life. Sign now to stand with the Kichwa people and save their forest: http://www.avaaz.org/en/oil_in_the_amazon_8/?tSkdncb Our community has fought year after year to protect the Amazon in Brazil and Bolivia, and won many victories standing in solidarity with indigenous communities. Now it’s Ecuador’s turn — let’s respond to this urgent call for action and save their forest. With hope and determination, Alex, Pedro, Alice, Laura, Marie, Ricken, Taylor, Morgan and all the Avaaz team More Information: Ecuadorian tribe gets reprieve from oil intrusion (The Guardian) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/17/indigenous-ecuadorian-tribe-oil-intrusion Ecuador adopts rights of nature in constitution (Rights of Nature) http://therightsofnature.org/ecuador-rights/ How oil extraction impacts the rainforest (Amazon Watch) http://amazonwatch.org/news/2013/0107-oil-extraction-how-oil-production-impacts-the-rainforest Drilling for oil in Eden: initiative to save amazon rainforest in Ecuador is uncertain (Scientific American) http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/03/17/drilling-for-oil-in-eden-initiative-to-save-amazon-rainforest-in-ecuador-is-uncertain/ Ecuador’s indigenous leaders oppose new oil exploration plans in Amazon region (Earth Island Journal) http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/ecuadors_indigenous_leaders_oppose_new_oil_exploration/ —————— I am not a pantheist or animist. However, I feel the Western world has much to learn from the attitude of the South American people towards their environment. Former CIWEM President, Nick Reeves, agrees: http://ciwem.helixsoftware.co.uk/hot-topics/2011/jul/the-human-rights-of-mother-earth.aspx
Will reblog this on LfD tomorrow! Well done.
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Given your order-of-magnitude greater number of readers, I am sure that Avaaz (and the Ecuadorian leopards) will be very grateful. 🙂
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Hi everyone- I have signed- rather ot but just to announce that my planned 2 year aid/climate change placement has just collapsed just days before departure. Omnishambles is the word, and at rather stupid expense that is now not going to where it is needed. I do have £440.28 worth of vaccinations in me [paid for out of eu aid money] as well as a big financial and future head ache. My view of aid monies has been modified- and now have a dim view of the poverty industry. However I am equipped with mobile film studio, travel kit, briefings and the monies from selling my car and other kit. So if anybody wants to investigate fracking or tar sands or tropical rainforest destruction let me know.
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Really sorry to hear this, Jules. I do hope you can find another sponsor.
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Damn, that must suck. And it’s a sad comment on the current state of affairs that someone who’s prepared to drop everything to try to help can be left in the lurch — and at the last minute too — like that. Good luck finding a useful direction from here. PS I signed (and chucked Avaaz a few bob too), though the more things I sign these days the more it feels like those of us who give a shit are split too many ways to do any real good…
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Please do sign the (anti-Bayer) Bee Poison petition.
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Ah, you mean the ban the bee killers one? Thanks for the heads-up. Signed, and tweeted, and facebooked. When, oh, when are we going to be able to rein in the insanity? Or is corporate power simply unstoppable?
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Exactement, mon ami. Merci beaucoup. Vive la revolution.
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