Geography 538

Oil in the Rainforest, October 24

1. What are the local social and environmental costs of oil extraction in neotropical regions?

2. Foreign companies have used environmentally destructive methods and outdated technology to extract oil from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Why did the Ecuadorian government allow this? Describe the protest movement against big oil among local and international advocates of human rights and the environment.

3. What factors are driving the rapid expansion of natural resource extraction (timber, oil, minerals) in Latin America? What do Bowles et al recommend conservationists do about this?

4. According to Diamond, what is the condition of the rainforest in Chevron's Kikori concession area in New Guinea? Why would Chevron invest in protecting this area?

1. What are the arguments for and against U.S. financial support for military protection of U.S. oil company installations in the Ecuadorian and Colombian Amazon?

2. What do conservationists risk when they attempt to block oil extraction entirely? What do they risk when they enter into negotiations or cooperation with oil companies?