Hobbies And Interests
Water Pollution
Rain forest ecosystems are an integrated mass of incredible complexity. While oil extractors claim the ability to minimize the damage caused by their activities, it is virtually impossible to insert a large-scale industrial operation into the midst of a rain forest without causing massive disruption. Water infiltrates every aspect of a rain forest ecosystem, and when that water becomes contaminated by oil, the effects are drastic and far-reaching. Lax regulations, deteriorating infrastructure and a corporate focus on minimizing costs and exporting profits add up to frequent leaks, spills and contamination of water sources in forests throughout Nigeria, Somalia, Congo and other African oil-producing nations.
Gas Flaring
Natural gas is produced as a by-product of oil development. Although natural gas is itself a valuable resource, many oil companies don't want to pay for the infrastructure to utilize it and so burn it off at its point of origin. The result of this policy is large numbers of enormous gas flares that burn day and night. The pollutants and particulates that are produced pollute groundwater, poison soil and contribute large amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Gas flaring is a particular problem in the Niger Delta, where local people claim that it is causing major damage in their lives.
Habitat Destruction
Rain forest animals don't acclimate well to the intrusion of oil and gas production. In addition to the pollution, noise and forest destruction that occur on the actual sites of production, the extensive road systems that support oil drilling cut up animal habitat into weakened pieces. Many species won't cross roads that lack a forest canopy, and this can disrupt the viability of their breeding populations, leading to questions about these species' long-term survival. Rain forest soil is quite fragile because so many of the nutrients in a rain forest ecosystem are contained in the trees themselves. When these trees are cut and burned, the land may revert to scrubland or even desert.
Inequitable Distribution of Profits
Not surprisingly, local residents of African rain forests are not benefiting from the riches that are being removed from under their feet. The majority of oil profits are exported to the West along with the oil. The small amounts that are paid to the governments of the countries where the oil is drilled remain, for the most part, in the hands of the wealthy elite of those countries. The poor and the indigenous who live on the land are left with pollution, a degraded rain forest and continued poverty.