The Yasuni National Park is located in Ecuador’s Amazon Basin. It is below the equator and is covered by the Andes Mountains. The park is home to millions of species of mammals, birds, insects, plants and trees (Blitz 2015). It is known to be the most biologically diverse place on Eearth (Cite). There are also many threats to the park such as, illegal logging, poaching, and the 1937 discovery of oil beneath the soil. Conservationists have been fighting to preserve the Yasuni in the face of oil drilling, as the park contains around 850 millions of barrels of oil under its surface (Cite). Yasuni was named as a national park of Ecuador in 1979 and a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1989. The park covers 3,792 square miles. It is located …show more content…
The environmental case for leaving the ITT oil fields untapped is beyond question. Oil drilling in Yasuni National Park should be banned completely. A single acre of rainforest in Yasuni has been found to contain over 650 different species of trees. The number is more than the whole of the United States and Canada combined. The park also boasts over 600 types of birds. Oil drilling should be banned from Yasuni National Park as it is more detrimental to the natural life existing there and would only minimally help the economic standing of Ecuador. In August 2013, the Ecuadorian government announced that it would commence oil exploration and extraction within the ITT block of the Yasuni National Park, which is the last block within the national park in which oil extraction activities have not taken place. A group of activists formed the Yasunidos group, which has become the principal organizer of the efforts to collect more than 600,000 signatures before April 12, 2014 in order to send a ballot question about the proposed extractive activities to a national referendum. Yasuni National Park faces many threats to its preservation. The impact of oil wells within the park, the opening of roads for oil exploration, and the installation of oil wells have been damaging on the environment within and outside of Yasuni National Park. Other threats include illegal timber extraction and climate change. There are also two groups of indigenous peoples that are living in voluntary isolation - still in harmony with the rainforest like they have for hundreds of years; the Tagaeri and Taromenane, which belong to the Wuaorani Nationality, and who have been affected by oil drilling for decades. There are so many reason of why drilling Yasuni National Park for oil needs to be stopped. Even though The National Assembly has passed the bill to begin drilling, there is still a small hope they
The environment needs protecting because even before the drilling started hunting was rapidly decreasing the amount of animals in the area. So if drilling occured in Alaska the animal count would go down even more. Drilling is gonna need space, and because Alaska is a mountained and woodland area they will have to make space by destroying trees etc. Destroying trees means destroying animals’ homes. According to document E ‘just look 60 miles west to Prudhoe bay- an oil complex that has turned 1,000 square miles of fragile tundra into a sprawling industrial zone containing, 1,500 miles of roads and pipes’. Also the document states that the would be
The Huaorani are the bravest people in the Amazon. It says so throughout Savages by Joe Kane. It is about the indigenous group called the Huaorani residing deep in the rainforest of the Amazon. They have their culture that struggles to maintain tradition, “Though Moi hit the streets of Washington D.C., at the evening rush hour, he walked in the city as he does in the forest-in slow, even strides “(Kane, Savages). The small indigenous group that reside in the Amazon are fighting against outer forces. The petroleum companies are destroying the land of the Huaorani people. Joe Kane who is the author and narrator of the book, tells the story of the Huaorani people and their struggles in the outer world
Wade Davis’ article, Among the Waorani, provides much of the content brought to light in Nomads of the Rainforest. His article delves deeper into their culture and motivations allowing one to more fully understand their beliefs, relationships, and savagery. Both the documentary and article attempt to create a picture of their close-knit relationships and their desire f...
Imagine a scenic, wild landscape with animals that roam freely, cascading waterfalls, and mountains that seem to scrape the pale blue sky. This is what one thinks when first hearing the name Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, the reality is completely opposite. Yosemite is now under a federally regulated Class 1 area under the Clean Air Act, which is equivalent to the pollution of Los Angeles (“National Parks Service”). It is a sad comparison to the past John Muir, who first documented Yosemite Valley, to today’s reality. The condition of Yosemite National Park should be introduced to the American public in order to protect its historic beauty and significance, eliminate current pollution, and prevent future repercussions.
The opposition to this project is increasing because the people living in those areas are already feeling negative consequences. The large communities living in Boreal Forest and other Natives lands are being affected by the extraction and process of tar sands. Not only this people are being rushed away from their lands, but also, the rate of cancer, renal failure, lupus, hyperthyroidism and other decease, are higher than ever. This health conditions increased because of the air pollution and the high quantities of metals and chemicals in the drinking water. Yet, lots of precautions are being taken by the company, oil spills keep happening over and over. The external metal corrosion caused by extreme temperatures and the corrosive acid components of the bitumen are factors that contribute to accidents like explosions and oil
There is an abundance of oil underneath earth’s crust on land and in the water but getting to that oil can be proven as a challenge and a negative impact on the earth. Many of these oil reservoirs lie in federally protected land or water to minimize the negative impact on the earth. But should those restrictions be removed? Removing the restrictions can allow the US to tap into domestic reserves rather than rely on imported oil from the Middle East and Asia but tapping these reservoirs can also leave behind an impact that is harmful to this planet. “Critics oppose this move for fear that it will cause irreparable harm environmental harm. They point to the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as evidence of the risks associated with offshore drilling” (SIRS).
..."Alaska Oil Spill Fuels Concerns Over Arctic Wildlife, Future Drilling." National Geographic News. 20 Mar. 2006. Web. 3 July 2010.
The fact that natural resources continuous to dwindle is obvious, therefore the need for sustainable energy from alternative resources is completely understandable. Natural gas in the Karoo has raised several optimism regarding the abundance that has been found, however several ethical issues raises when drilli...
The documentary “The National Parks- America’s Best Idea” explained the history of national parks and how they came to be. Monuments, battlefields, and military parks were transferred to become national parks. Though they weren’t what they are now at first, they seemed a lot like zoos, focusing on tameness and less on wildness. There is an abundance of life in the national parks, and George Wright tried to let everyone know the equilibrium was out. People were getting in the way of the plants and animals, instead of letting the plants and animals thrive on their own. Each of these species, including the predators should be protected. He saved the trumpeter swans.
We find ourselves in unique situation. A debate of whether it is right to dig up oil in the Great Lakes. The lakes are known to contain oil and natural gas, but what risk does that play to our environment? The two sides in this debate both have their valid points. It is right to preserve wildlife, but oil is also a highly valuable commodity in today’s market. People often stress that we must take care of our planet because it is the only one we have. Why then do we destroy thousands of square miles of rainforest for wood? Why is there so much emphasis on industrialization, and not enough on the preservation of our Earth? Why do we need to use so much, nevertheless waste so much? Our environment and world is declining at a rate at which we cannot afford. It will be sad to see our planet in another few hundred years. We need to start preserving our environment, and not drilling our Great Lakes for oil is a great place to start. If we drill for oil, we will lose much wildlife, destroy habitats, have possible oil spills, and in fact endanger ourselves in the long run.
...hat are concerned with conservation in Ecuador have been created in recent years and are participating in various activities aimed at conserving and managing Ecuador’s natural resources. The lack of information and analysis capabilities has prompted both the government and some of the non-governmental organizations to initiate geographic information system projects to support ecosystem management.
The Arctic Circle is a snowy paradise that harbors diverse species and beautiful landscapes. It also happens to be home to an estimated thirteen to twenty-five percent of the world’s undiscovered crude oil, averaging out to about 90 billion barrels of oil (Gerkens, 2014). Alaska in particular is home to one of the largest sources of oil in the United States. Underneath the barren land and icy waters is thought to be over 412 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. A majority of these fossil fuels are located in North Slope, Alaska and in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off the coast of Alaska. However, reaching this fuel can be quite difficult and perilous. Drilling on land is strongly protested and drilling in the ocean can be treacherous. There are pros and cons to drilling for oil in the Arctic and the effects of drilling could be positive or negative. (Dlouhy, 2014)
The indigenous actively oppose this pipeline as it is on their land and it also destroys the forests and ruins the water surrounding the reserve itself.
As the demand and need for natural resources rises, the search for oil off shore also increases. Companies take to the waters in search for petroleum rich areas, which can be found far beneath the surface buried under dense layers of rock and water. Not only are off shore drilling projects detrimental to the well-being of the surrounding environment but these operations are taxing on the human population as well. Nearly 8 years after one of the largest oil spills in history, the effected residential and environmental communities are still reeling from the aftermath of this toxic event.
protecting the area due to the amount of money to be made. That is why