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Poisoning the Amazon
Cancer, birth defects and skin diseases affect 30 000 rainforest residents in Ecuador, Joseph Mutti investigates – This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 6. It’s the smell that hits you first as you approach a pit the size of a football field filled with a choking sludge of oil and dead…
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Remember Saro-Wiwa, in ‘Land, Art – A Cultural Ecology Handbook’
In Land, Art, A Cultural Ecology Handbook, Ed. Max Andrews, RSA, Arts Council England, 2006 The Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed together with eight Ogoni colleagues by the Nigerian military on 10th November 1995 for his effective campaigning against the consistent despoilation of the oil-rich lands of the Niger Delta by oil…
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Will Iraq repeat Russia’s oil mistakes?
By Greg Muttitt, PLATFORM Published in al-Sabah al-Jadeed, October 2006 Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani announced last week that he aimed to sign oil production contracts with foreign companies by the end of next year. Notably, the announcement was made in Australia – like most of the significant statements of Iraqi oil policy, it was…
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George’s oil Dubya-speak
As decision-time approaches, the USA pulls levers on Iraqi oil policy – This report was first published in Platform’s carbon web newsletter, issue 5. “The oil belongs to the Iraqi people. It’s their asset,” declared George W. Bush in a press conference on the White House lawn in June. He had just returned from his…
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Oil-rich South America forces US free trade agenda on the back foot
In a sign of increasing resistance to US hegemony in South America, both Bolivia and Ecuador have moved towards nationalisation of their oil industries – This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 5. Bolivian President Evo Morales in May issued an ultimatum to foreign oil companies to negotiate new contracts or leave…
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The Energy Challenge
The UK government’s Energy Review was published in July, only two years since the last. Few outside the nuclear industry were pleased with its findings – This analysis report was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter Issue 5. Despite the focus on new nuclear plants as the solution, the presentation to Parliament by Alistair Darling,…
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Energy Security – for whom?
Some commentators saw this summer’s G8 meeting in St. Petersburg as a clash of empires, with Vladimir Putin using the theme of “energy security” to reassert Russia’s global power. What has received less attention is how the concept is intended to bring ever-increasing supplies of energy to all of the G8 countries, potentially at the…
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George’s Oil Dubya-speak
As decision-time approaches, the USA pulls levers on Iraqi oil policy. “The oil belongs to the Iraqi people. It’s their asset,” declared George W. Bush in a press conference on the White House lawn in June. He had just returned from his surprise visit to Baghdad, in which oil had been one of the main…
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The Demise of Teflon John
As speculation intensifies about who will lead BP after boss John Browne’s retirement in two years time (see notes from Gog and Magog), with it comes the question of Browne’s legacy in the company – This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 5. Browne’s leadership has been defined by his branding…
