...ENVIRONMENT KHABAROVSK, RUSSIAN FEDERATION AUGUST 27.-29, 2007 The Adverse Impacts of Oil Pollution on the Environment and Wellbeing of a Local Indigenous Community: The Experience of the Ogoni People of Nigeria Paper by LEGBORSI SARO PYAGBARA MOVEMENT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE OGONI PEOPLE (MOSOP) OF NIGERIA Introduction Crude oil has had profound impact on the world civilization than any single natural resource in recorded history. Oil has become a very decisive element in defining the politics, rhetoric and diplomacy of states. This fact is adumbrated in a public lecture entitled “Oil in World Politics” delivered by a former secretary of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the late Chief M.O.Feyide, when he asserted that “All over the world, the lives of people are affected and the destiny of nations are determined by the result of oil explorations. Oil keeps the factors of the industrialized countries working and provides the revenues, which enable oil exporters to execute ambitious national and economic development plans. The march of progress would be retarded and life itself would be unbearable if the world is deprived of oil. That is why oil has become the concern of governments, a vital ingredient of their politics and a crucial factor in the political and diplomatic strategies”[i] Yet behind this deification of oil,...
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...1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Oil spill is the leakage or discharge of petroleum onto the surface of inland or coastal water. It assumes disastrous dimension when an uncontrollable well blows out or pipeline ruptures. On water surface, spreading takes place immediately, which is very harmful to various types of aquatic lives as it prevents sufficient amount of sunlight from penetrating and also reduces the land-dissolving capacity in the water. The magnitude of crude oil pollution and damage occasioned by multi-national oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is incredible (Urhobo Historical Society, 2003). It is noteworthy that the devastating consequences of the crude oil spill in the region with its eventual hazards on both aerial and terrestrial environments is tantamount to an irreversible chain effect on both the biodiversity and human safety. Abbot (2007) in her article entitled “Think Jamaica is Bad? Try Nigeria” notes that the discovery of oil has been an ecological disaster for the Niger Delta where the oil is extracted. Oil and natural resources of a country are often considered to be national assets. Oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. Animals that rely on scent to find their babies or mothers fade away due to the strong scent of the oil. This causes a baby to be rejected...
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...Abstract:Oil pollution has been the major environmental effect in oil producing countries particularly where crude oil exploration tales place. In Nigeria, the problem is more pronounced in the Niger-Delta region. Poultry farming is a very lucrative business in Nigeria where both chickens (layers and broilers) are found particularly in the northern part of the country. The eggshells are usually thrown and allowed to liter the environment. A column study was used to test the ability of the eggshell granules in the removal of crude oil from oil polluted water from as high as 187 ppm to 1.5 ppm. Effects on water flow rate, and bed height were investigated. The result showed that as the bed height increased from 5 cm to 30 cm, the oil removal varies from 88 to 99% and the service time varies from 876 to 3702 s. The effect of flow rate on oil removal showed that the higher the flow rate, the lower the amount of oil removed.The pattern by which oil was removed from polluted water was based on an equation of a polynomial order of 5 degree.Bed depth service time was used to evaluate the values of the sorption capacity of the bed No and the bed depth service constant Ka. The values of No and Ka are 36.88mg/L and 0.000068 L/mg/sec respectively. The critical bed...
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... | | | | | | An Overview of Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution | This page is one of a series of web pages developed by the CAR/RCU on various Environmental Issues in the Caribbean. These pages are a good starting point for research into many of the pressing concerns of the nations and territories of the Wider Caribbean Region. They contain definitions, descriptions, discussions, links to relevant on-line documents and web sites. Read about other Issues. | | * Introduction * Land based pollution sources and their environmental impacts * Sewage * Oil hydrocarbons * Sediments * Nutrients * Pesticides * Solid waste and marine debris * Toxic substances * Planning and management of environmental pollution * CEP and land based sources of pollution * Pollution related CEP reports * Links to pollution related websites | INTRODUCTION | The major sources of coastal and marine pollution originating from the land vary from country to country. The nature and intensity of development activities, the size of the human population, the state and type of industry and agriculture are but a few of the factors contributing to each country’s unique pollution problems. Pollution is discharged either directly into to the sea, or enters the coastal waters through rivers and by atmospheric deposition. In order to mitigate and control the impact of pollution on coastal and marine resources, it is essential that the type and load of pollutants...
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...One of the first things that WWF is doing is educating the public. Although this is a major problem in our society many people don’t know much about it. WWF educates the public on what is going on and how important it is to help stop these problems before it’s to late. Secondly, they support strong regulation groups like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flores (CITES). By doing this they help stop illegal trade routes and help strength wildlife trade laws. Poaching is a growing problem and WWF believes that with others supporting them together we can put a end to this problem once and for all. This leads us to our next source that discusses how WWF is helping the impacts of exploration of oil and...
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...Introduction Being in a more and more globalized economic world, it’s not easy to make sure any decision would end up with the best reward, for there are a lot of potential problems (competition and market change for instance) may finally lead to a risky situation. This would basically answer the question—do I agree with the notion that “decisions involving huge outlays of capital almost classic gut decisions: they involve risky, inherently ambiguous judgments between unclear alternatives”? However, even I do believe making decisions of most investment would have to face the uncertainty; it is comprehensive to notice some outlays of capital are not so hard to make. This article mainly focuses on illustrating this point of view along with the decision-making theory and some examples from industries. To get away from useless factors, suppose an ideal rational manager acting exactly in line with the decision-making theory, which means one would effectively following six steps(identify a problem, identify decision criteria, allocating weights, developing alternatives, analyze alternatives, and finally follow up and evaluate). It’s quite impossible for any investment to be successful with any of these steps in an ambiguous situation (although personally the third and fifth step reveals its complexity under most cases and is better been taken care of in particular). That’s the reason I believe this statement has its point under most cases, but with the idea of some outlays of capital...
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...involves wetland ecosystems. *Reclamation – Typically used to describe chemical or physical manipulations carried out in severely degraded sites, such as open-pit mines or large-scale construction. Environmental Legislation/Agreements NAME | Abbr. | Description | Atomic Energy Act | | The act establishes a general regulatory structure for construction and use of nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons facilities. Unlike most environmental statutes, it does not permit citizen suits and affords only limited opportunities for suits by public interest groups. | *Clean Air Act | CAA | Established primary and secondary air quality standards. Required states to develop implementation plans. Sets limits and goals to reduce mobile source air pollution and ambient air quality standards. | *Clean Water Act | CWA | Regulates and enforces all discharge into water sources and wetland destruction/construction. | *Coastal Zone Management Act...
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...the form of lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and general wet areas. Lakes, ponds and bogs are generally stationary bodies of water, although bogs can be a source of rivers and streams, which are moving bodies of water. Freshwater ecosystems support us many other ways too; dams can be built to harness the power of rivers to generate electricity. Rivers also provide water for irrigation and industry, processing wastes, producing timber and supplying food. Freshwater serves an important role in transporting goods via ships. They also serve for recreational, cultural and aesthetic purposes. Because of the huge demand we have on freshwater systems, they require 'Management and Policies' in order to regulate and protect them. Pollution and waste due to industrial exploitation and overpopulation are a serious threat to our freshwater resources. Residential, commercial and industrial premises are often concentrated near waterways, lakes and rivers. Historically, humans have congregated by freshwater and used it as medium for transport of goods and people. Now that we know how important water is to the planet and humans we as a country need to step up and reserve and save our fresh water resources. My plan of action is to make up some pamphlets and bring them to my local community center and my mayor’s office. I am going to try to sit down and talk to my mayor on the importance of keeping our waters clean. I will educate people and let them know to pass on the word. Making a few changes...
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...Niger Delta There is a long and terrible record of environmental destruction and human rights violations in the oil-producing regions of Nigeria. The gross level of environmental degradation caused by oil exploration and extraction in the Niger Delta has gone unchecked for the past 30 years. Evidence shows that the oil companies operating in Nigeria have not only disregarded their responsibility towards the environment but have acted together with the military’s repression of Nigerian citizens. The profit-driven collusion between multinational oil companies and the past and present Nigerian governments has cost many lives and continues to threaten the stability of the region. In the course of writing this paper, based on all the accounts of reports read, interviews conducted, news and report findings, I came to the realization that oil extraction and the related operations of multinational oil corporations pose a serious threat to the livelihood of the people of the Niger Delta. Tensions in the Niger Delta continue to erupt into violence as natural resources vital to local communities’ survival are destroyed by oil operations. Environmental and social justice for the people of the Niger Delta remain central issues for achieving peace in the region. As long as people’s calls for justice continue to be ignored and resisted by both multinational oil corporations and the Nigerian government, the situation in the Delta can only deteriorate. Many ethnic groups in the...
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...Crucial To Us Today? The resources of this planet are finite and limited – as also its capacity to absorb and dispose of all the waste and garbage we generate. ‘Growth’ ‘Progress’ and ‘Development’ have spelt out one thing: increased consumption of material goods. Increased consumption of material goods has led to irreversible exploitation of natural resources: wood, fossil fuels, water to mention only a few. Rapid industrialization and global trends ↓ Grave problems of ecological imbalance and environmental degradation Environmental destruction is the result of man’s interference with Nature. We all require clean air, fresh, unpolluted water and a healthy habitat. But we also want large houses, all the latest gadgets, big cars and all other material amenities. Modern industry has provided us with unprecedented material prosperity. It has also created unparalleled environmental threats to us and our future generations. Modern technology has enabled us to manipulate and control nature – e.g. quick yielding seeds, artificial rain, BT vegetables and cereals, multiple crops etc. But this has led to increased pollution and severe depletion of natural resources. - Pollutants are pumped into the air - Toxic wastes are produced and dumped into soil, water and seas Major problems facing the world in the 21st century: - Population growth - Global warming/ rising temperatures - Falling water tables - Shrinking agricultural land - Collapsing...
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...International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-Operation, 1990 (London, 30 November 1990) THE PARTIES TO THE PRESENT CONVENTION, CONSCIOUS of the need to preserve the human environment in general and the marine environment in particular, RECOGNIZING the serious threat posed to the marine environment by oil pollution incidents involving ships, offshore units, sea ports and oil handling facilities, MINDFUL of the importance of precautionary measures and prevention in avoiding oil pollution in the first instance, and the need for strict application of existing international instruments dealing with maritime safety and marine pollution prevention, particularly the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974,as amended, and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, as amended, and also the speedy development of enhanced standards for the design, operation and maintenance of ships carrying oil, and of offshore units, MINDFUL ALSO that, in the event of an oil pollution incident, prompt and effective action is essential in order to minimize the damage which may result from such an incident, EMPHASIZING the importance of effective preparation for combating oil pollution incidents and the important role which the oil and shipping industries have in this regard, RECOGNIZING FURTHER the importance of mutual assistance and international...
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...in the glossary of “Renewable Energy; Myths and Obstacles” is a source of energy that regenerates over a period of time. However, this period of time is significantly shorter than the time it takes for nonrenewable energy sources to regenerate. The most common nonrenewable energy source is fossil fuel. Usually renewable energy depends on the sun’s energy to regenerate; solar energy, wind power and hydropower are examples of renewable energy sources that depend on the sun. Renewable energy, also known as clean energy, is becoming a fast growing phenomenon. President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, mentioned in a recent speech that USA spends nearly one billion dollars a day on purchasing oil from other countries. He also stressed on the fact that air pollution caused by those fossil fuels is becoming one of the biggest worldwide problems. On June 15 in the year 2010, he said, “Now, there are costs associated with this transition. And some believe we can’t afford those costs right now. I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy— because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.” Renewable energy is the solution for high-energy demands because it is eco-friendly, economical and inexhaustible amongst many other reasons. However, some might argue that it is not reliable and is inefficient. Ecofriendly Renewable energy is considered environment friendly because it does not give off...
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...Shell in the Niger Delta: A Framework for Change Five case studies from civil society sponsored by February 2010 About ECCR The Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR) is a church-based investor coalition and membership organisation working for economic justice, environmental stewardship, and corporate and investor responsibility. ECCR undertakes research, advocacy and dialogue with companies and investors. It seeks to influence company policy and practice and to raise awareness among the British and Irish churches, the investor community and the general public. For more information, please visit www.eccr.org.uk. Acknowledgements ECCR would like to thank the five civil society organisations that contributed case studies based on their work in the Niger Delta; Cordaid for generously sponsoring the report; members, partners and independent experts who advised, read and commented on the text before publication; Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Shell Petroleum Development Corporation of Nigeria for providing company information and commenting on the text. Cover photo credits: Friends of the Earth International; IRIN/UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands; Stakeholder Democracy Network. Disclaimers ECCR has commissioned and published these case studies as a contribution to public understanding. The text has undergone a careful process of fact-checking and review to achieve accuracy and balance. Nevertheless...
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...Bangladesh emphasizing the coastal environment, capture fisheries and management issues relative to the sector. Bangladesh’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers an area of about 166 000 km2. This area has abundant natural resources such as fish, shrimps, crabs and other marine products. Shrimp and fish trawling is the most important economic activity in this area. The fishery sector makes a significant contribution to the national economy in terms of foreign exchange, income generation and employment. It is very important in nutrition, especially in providing animal protein. In 1997 - 99, the marine fisheries sector contributed 22% of the total fishery production of 1 373 000 t. However, the resources are being destroyed in many ways. The fisheries resources have declined and fishers are getting poorer. The decline is partly due to estuarine set bag net, push net, and beach seine fishing, which result in recruitment over-fishing. A multiplicity of factors adversely affect the coastal fishery resources of Bangladesh. Various laws, ordinances and acts have been formulated to manage the fisheries resources and to protect the coastal zone environment. Most of the laws have been amended to meet current needs. However, marine fisheries...
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...Preeti Grover ENV 1020 Prof. Zarnoch Museum Assignment American Museum of Natural History Field Trip Hall of Biodiversity 1. According to the information in hall, the disruption of ecosystem adversely affects food supplies and water quality and quantity. Damage to ecosystem can cause changes in disease ecology, leading to the emergence of rare and unknown diseases or the resurgence of diseases that were previously controlled. We also lost indicators of the ability of ecosystem to support life of all kinds, including human life, finally, living in a world lacking the beauty and tranquility inherent in diverse, intact ecosystems had profound effects on out mental health. 2. According to the information in the exhibit human population has exploded since the invention of agriculture and people are transforming the land for farming and the industrial revolution has increased the rate of expansion of cities, roads and manufacturing facilities. I agree that we need to preserve biodiversity as it makes up the structure of the ecosystem and habitats that support essential living resources, including wildlife, fisheries and forests. It also helps provide for basic human needs such as food, shelter and medicine. 3. Biome is a very large area on the earth’s surface with animals and plants adapting to their environment. Biomes are often defined by abiotic factors such as climate, geology, soils and vegetation. The nine Biomes are described in the Hall...
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