1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by earth Breeze. Earthbreeze 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,960 Speaker 1: looks like a dryer sheet, but it's ultra concentrated laundry detergent. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: You just tear off a sheet, you throw it in 4 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: with your laundry and that's it. It cleans really well. 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: It's hypoallergenic, free of bleach and dyes. It gets rid 6 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: of all the plastic in your laundry situation. Right now, 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: my listeners can get forty percent off earth Breeze plus 8 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: a free welcome bundle. Just go to earthbreeze dot com 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: slash Drilled Free. That's forty percent off your earth Breeze 10 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: Eco Sheheet subscription. Plus you'll also get a three month 11 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 1: supply of washing machine cleaner and a laundry Symbols magnet 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:48,919 Speaker 1: totally free. That's Earthbreeze dot com slash Drilled Free d 13 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:53,200 Speaker 1: R I L L D F R EE To save 14 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: forty percent and claim your free gifts earthbreeze dot com 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: slash drilled Free. Welcome back to Drilled. I'm Amy Westervelt. 16 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: You might remember a few years back we did a 17 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:16,119 Speaker 1: season on Chevron and Ecuador and the long drawn out 18 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: Saga of Folks living in the Ecuadorian Amazon, trying to 19 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: get compensation for damages from Texico and then Chevron for 20 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: dumping oil there. We talked in that episode about former 21 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: Equadorian President Rafael Correa and his plan about a decade 22 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,479 Speaker 1: ago to try to get the world to pay Ecuador 23 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: to keep oil in the ground in Yasuni National Park. 24 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: Yasuni is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. 25 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: It's also been a hotspot of oil production for quite 26 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: some time. Last year, a big election made headlines all 27 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: over the world when Ecuadorians voted to stop drilling in 28 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: Yasuni National Park, or at least that's how it was reported. Today, 29 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: reporter Macy Lipkin brings us the story of what's really 30 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: been going on in Ecuador and Yasuni and what this 31 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: vote meant, means, and will mean for the future of 32 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: Ecuador and oil. 33 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 2: Welcome to Northeast Ecuador, one of the most biodiverse places 34 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 2: on Earth. Kelly Swing founded Tippuccini Biodiversity Station here in 35 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 2: the nineteen nineties. He'd be the first to tell you 36 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 2: how special this region is. Yasuni National Park is right 37 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 2: across the river. 38 00:02:55,960 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 3: A hectare of rainforest in Yasuni has probably around or 39 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 3: maybe even over six hundred species of trees per hectare 40 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 3: in the US, if you're in a mature forest in 41 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 3: the eastern part of the country, you could walk in 42 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 3: the entire morning and maybe not see ten species of trees. 43 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 3: If we talk about birds, the Yese has close to 44 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,920 Speaker 3: six hundred species. If you look at the US and 45 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 3: Canada together about eight hundred species cats. There are five 46 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 3: species of felines in Yeseny, which is also pretty spectacular. 47 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 3: Of course, when you say five, that doesn't sound like 48 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 3: a gigang number, but if you're talking about cat species 49 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 3: is an enormous number. Any place you impact, it's gonna 50 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 3: affect more species than it would anywhere else on the planet. 51 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 2: This biodiversity doesn't just make for a spectacular way through 52 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 2: the jungle. It also bodes well from medicine. 53 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 3: In business, people use hundreds of species of plants for 54 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 3: different kinds of remedies. There are pharmaceutical products that have 55 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 3: been derived from those things that are worth lots of money. 56 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 3: Why couldn't there be one of those plants, you know, 57 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 3: in Yasuni. 58 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 2: Yasuni Is importance goes beyond even its biodiversity and potential 59 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 2: for pharmaceuticals. Gonzalo Rivas Torres teaches ecology at the University 60 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 2: of San Francisco in Quito. He says that Yasuni is 61 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 2: key for human survival. Plants in the rainforest conduct photosynthesis 62 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 2: and produce water vapor. 63 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 4: Water vapor is then transforming into humidity that will go 64 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 4: up right in the sky and then through winds will 65 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 4: move towards the west and then it will hit theyend 66 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 4: this right that is literally at this wall to the west. 67 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 4: Then their you know, temperature drops. Also pressure is going 68 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 4: to be different, and then you have precipitation, and all 69 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 4: that precipitation is then filling up aquifers or the high 70 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 4: and the enforced here we called paramols that are naterally 71 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 4: sponges of this water. Un dam is going to be 72 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 4: yield to big water resterours that is the main source 73 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 4: for like millions of Equadorians, millions of South Americans. 74 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 2: On paper, Yasnuni looks pretty well protected. It became a 75 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 2: National park in nineteen seventy nine and the UNESCO Biosphere 76 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 2: Reserve in nineteen eighty nine, but oil had already been 77 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 2: discovered in the park by then. Currently seven active oil 78 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 2: blocks overlap with the boundaries of the national park. That's 79 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 2: despite the fact that in two thousand and eight, Ecuador 80 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 2: became the first country in the world to ratify rights 81 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,119 Speaker 2: of nature and its constitution. You can learn more about 82 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 2: that in detail in the first season of our sister podcast, 83 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 2: Damages For Our Purposes. It's important to understand that the 84 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 2: Ecuadorian Constitution states that nature or pachamama, where life is 85 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,599 Speaker 2: reproduced and occurs, has the right to integral respect for 86 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 2: its existence and for the maintenance and regeneration of its 87 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 2: life cycles, structure, functions, and evolutionary processes. But any underground 88 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:23,119 Speaker 2: resources belong to the government, so drilling happens anyway. Rights 89 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 2: of nature be damned. Oil extraction has become less invasive 90 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 2: over the years, but it still impacts everything that makes 91 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 2: Yasuni special. 92 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 3: The oil industry is far less extensive and expansive in 93 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 3: its operations and impacts today than they were decades ago. 94 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 2: Back then, deforestation was rampant, oil spills were more common. 95 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 2: Oil companies built roads that led to overhunting, colonization, and 96 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 2: noise pollution, all impacts that the region is still dealing 97 00:06:58,640 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 2: with today. 98 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 3: Technology has changed, They've incorporated different strategies, and a lot 99 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 3: of those strategies benefit them financially too. But it's it's better, 100 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 3: but it does not approach an idea that Rafael Coorea 101 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 3: talked about during his time of we're only going to 102 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 3: impact Uno porm, which is one tenth of one percent 103 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 3: of the land area. It's like, how do you do that? 104 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 2: Oil extraction produces natural gas, and oil companies burn that 105 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:36,119 Speaker 2: extra gas in big flames called gas flares. Ecuador banned 106 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 2: gas flares in twenty twenty one because they appeared to 107 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 2: cause cancer and the people who live nearby. But I 108 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 2: saw multiple flames coming from different oil blocks in October 109 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, so I know that at least some 110 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 2: polluting practices persist. That brings us back to twenty thirteen Ecuador. 111 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 2: As president at the time, Rafael Correa made one of 112 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 2: yasuin these oil blocks famous with his initiative to leave 113 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 2: its oil underground. It was called Block forty three or 114 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 2: the itt Block, named for the three oil fields inside it. 115 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 2: Korea asked other countries to pay Ecuador three and a 116 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 2: half billion dollars, about half the value of the oil 117 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 2: to leave the forest there. Intact, the plan failed, and 118 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 2: the ITT block opened in twenty sixteen. It's the most 119 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 2: recent block to open in Yasuni and one of Ecuador's 120 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 2: most productive. It's controversial because some of its crude is 121 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 2: low quality and expensive to extract, meaning that it brings 122 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 2: in little profit, and because it overlaps with what's called 123 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 2: the Intangible Zone, an area designed to protect the rights 124 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 2: of indigenous groups living in the forest involuntary isolation. When 125 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 2: the ITT initiative failed, a group of young people called 126 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 2: Yasunilos rallied to get Yasuni on the ballot. It took 127 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 2: ten years, but it finally happened. This past August, Ecuadorians 128 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 2: voted whether or not to stop drilling in the ITT block. 129 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 2: Environmentalists argue that the rainforest was worth protecting. Petro Ecuador, 130 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 2: the state run oil company that operates ITT, argued that 131 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 2: the lost income would be catastrophic for the economy. The 132 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 2: results were decisive. Almost sixty percent of Ecuadorians voted to 133 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 2: stop drilling in ITT. This made international headlines as a 134 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 2: win for the Amazon. 135 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: Ecuadorians have voted to stop oil drilling in the Yasuni 136 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: National Park, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, 137 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: which is part of the Amazon Rainforest. 138 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 5: It was an environmental dilemma for an oil producing country, 139 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 5: a dilemma of voters faced in last Sunday's vote. In 140 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 5: the end, nearly six out of every ten voters chose 141 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 5: to protect the Yasuni. We have saved that the greatest 142 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 5: biodiversity that has been recognized and nationally and internationally. The 143 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 5: leader of one of Yasunie indigenous community said. 144 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:09,719 Speaker 2: Hey, y but in Ecuador, even conservationists didn't know what 145 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,200 Speaker 2: would come of it after the break. What the referendum 146 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,439 Speaker 2: actually means for the itt block and for Yasuni as 147 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 2: a whole. 148 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by earth Breeze. Earth 149 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: Breeze has completely revolutionized my laundry game. I know that 150 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but honestly, I 151 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: just love it. Every time I go to put that 152 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: little sheet into the wash, instead of lugging a heavy 153 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 1: plastic jug over to do it, I feel like I'm 154 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 1: doing things right. Earth breeze looks like a dryer sheet, 155 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,319 Speaker 1: but it's ultra concentrated laundry detergent. You just tear off 156 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: a sheet, you throw it in with your laundry and 157 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: that's it. It cleans really well, it's hypoallergenic, free of 158 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,239 Speaker 1: bleach and dyes. It gets rid of all the plastic 159 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: in your life laundry situation. 160 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 6: And you save a. 161 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: Whopping forty percent when you subscribe Right now, my listeners 162 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,559 Speaker 1: can get forty percent off earth Breeze plus a free 163 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: welcome bundle. Just go to earthbreeze dot com slash Drilled Free. 164 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: That's forty percent off your earth Breeze Eco Shehet subscription. 165 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: Plus you'll also get a three month supply of washing 166 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: machine cleaner and a laundry Symbols magnet totally free. That's 167 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: earthbreeze dot com slash Drilled Free. D r I L 168 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:36,080 Speaker 1: L E ED f R E E to save forty 169 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 1: percent and claim your free gifts earthbreeze dot com slash 170 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: Drilled Free. 171 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 2: The ballot question asked voters, do you agree that the 172 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 2: Ecuadorian government should keep the crude in itt known as 173 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 2: Block forty three underground indefinitely? In Spanish is daves de 174 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 2: coude and guilbirno ecoano mantinga elkuns indefini de mine nossulo. 175 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 2: Below the yes and no boxes was the fine print. 176 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,360 Speaker 2: If the yes vote wins, it said, there will be 177 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 2: an organized progressive withdrawal of all activity related to oil 178 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:24,920 Speaker 2: extraction within a year of the notification of the official results. Additionally, 179 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 2: the state will not be able to take action toward 180 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 2: initiating new contracts to continue the exploitation of it. The 181 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 2: vote passed, but some loud voices said the government could 182 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 2: ignore it. In early September, a video surfaced of then 183 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 2: President Guillermo Lasso saying the vote was unenforceable. Separately, the 184 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 2: Minister of Energy and Minds said the outcome depended only 185 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:51,679 Speaker 2: on the vote in the province where it is located, 186 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 2: not in the country as a whole. Odajana, province home 187 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 2: to it, voted to keep drilling, so did its neighbors. 188 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:04,680 Speaker 2: Sukum more on that in a minute, Ecuador's twenty two 189 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 2: other provinces voted to stop. If the minister were correct, 190 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 2: then drilling would continue. In itt Environmental lawyer Ugo Achividia 191 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 2: says the government was talking about a consulta previa, a 192 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 2: different kind of vote that allows indigenous Equadorians and Afro 193 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 2: Ecuadorians to vote on projects that may impact their ancestral homelands. 194 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 2: He says that the vote on drilling was a consulta popular, 195 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 2: a national vote that is final madraza de los pronoun 196 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 2: regardless of what the politicians say. It's a final decision 197 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 2: that has to be obeyed. Legally, it has to be 198 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 2: obeyed and will be obeyed. The timeline for closing down 199 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:53,559 Speaker 2: ITT caused even more confusion. PetroEcuador asked the Constitutional Court 200 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 2: for three years to stop drilling, but the court stuck 201 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 2: to one. The court also demanded that within the same 202 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:03,200 Speaker 2: time frame, the oil company start repairing the forest where 203 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 2: it had drilled. In mid November, Petro Ecuador announced that 204 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 2: it will stop drilling in ITT on August thirty first, 205 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 2: twenty twenty four, that's the day of the court's deadline. 206 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 2: It plans to extract eleven million more barrels of oil 207 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,920 Speaker 2: by them, which is slower than peak production, but it's 208 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 2: still unclear how long Petro Ecuador has to remove its 209 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 2: equipment and what it means to repair the forest. Fifty 210 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 2: nine percent of voters across Ecuador voted to stop drilling 211 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 2: in ITT, but in the province of Vodajana, where the 212 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 2: ITT block is located, residents voted to keep drilling fifty 213 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 2: eight to forty two percent. The big reason was jobs. 214 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 2: Ramiro San Miguel has worked as a guide at Tipputini 215 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 2: Biodiversity Station for more than twenty years. His face lights 216 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 2: up when he spots monkeys. He led my group trampling 217 00:14:54,840 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 2: off the trail just to get a better look. That's 218 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 2: Ramiro imitating the wily monkeys call. In some of my recordings, 219 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 2: I can't tell which noises come from Ramiro and which 220 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 2: are for monkeys. Before coming to Tipputini, Romeiro capped in 221 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 2: the barge for an oil company. He's seen firsthand what 222 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 2: oil extraction does to the forest is. 223 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 7: Simpre the guy. 224 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 2: Whenever there's drilling, there's a big impact, primarily in deforestation. 225 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 7: Habitais yes, I'll gok okay. 226 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 2: They destroy certain animals' habitats. Now we're dealing with global 227 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 2: warming from so much deforestation, so much burning of gases. 228 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: Sequences. 229 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 2: But when it came to the I t T referendum, 230 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 2: Romiro voted to keep drilling. He worries about what his 231 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,400 Speaker 2: sons will do if they lose their jobs. 232 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 8: Then go. 233 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 7: And lunus capitatos maginista transportang los Caro. 234 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 2: I have two sons who work at Block forty three. 235 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 2: They work on the barges. One's a captain and the 236 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 2: others an engineer. If they're going to stop drilling, what 237 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 2: will they do? Where will they work? It's something I've 238 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 2: asked myself and sometimes mentioned to my colleagues. These people, 239 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 2: where are they going to find work? It's a little complicated. 240 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 2: Other folks I talked to were frustrated that people far 241 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 2: away in Quito who work off his jobs and don't 242 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 2: understand life in the Amazon voted to stop drilling when 243 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 2: they benefit from oil money too, and some people were 244 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 2: confused by the wording of the referendum. One man he 245 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 2: voted yes because the region needed oil jobs, but the 246 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 2: yes vote was to stop drilling. Others suspected that the 247 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 2: government would ignore the vote and drill anyway. Some cited 248 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:14,840 Speaker 2: a debunked conspiracy theory that Peru could extract the oil 249 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,680 Speaker 2: with some kind of horizontal pipe. My taxi driver voted 250 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 2: to stop drilling, but thought the vote to keep drilling 251 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 2: had won. PetroEcuador has argued that it's helped the communities 252 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:29,399 Speaker 2: where it drills. It has built hospitals and schools, and 253 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 2: provided water filters. To indigenous families, but some folks in Coca, 254 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 2: the capital of Odajana Province, are frustrated because they don't 255 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,919 Speaker 2: feel the benefits. They only see oil money leave the region. 256 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 2: One man pointed out that there's not a single university 257 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 2: in the province of Odajana. Other residents have experienced the 258 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 2: downsides of oil extraction, like oil spills firsthand. Jose Makania 259 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 2: is also a guide. It to Buccini. He grew up 260 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 2: in an indigenous Quichua community moved to Coca for high school. 261 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,359 Speaker 2: One morning, he went to bathe in the river before 262 00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 2: walking the two hours to school. 263 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 8: Mayana Ante saliarmi Io fil Rio Scuro viving in trail Rio. 264 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 2: I got in the river to bathe one morning and 265 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,639 Speaker 2: came out a little black. The river was full of oil. 266 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 2: The pipeline had broken your Coca. My dad saw me 267 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,120 Speaker 2: covered in that black stuff and told. 268 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,399 Speaker 8: Me it was oil Petrolia. 269 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 2: Jose later worked for an oil exploration company. His job 270 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 2: was to make sure the other workers didn't do too 271 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 2: much damage to the forest while creating trails, but he 272 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 2: saw how underground explosions which were set off to find 273 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 2: out whether there was oil in the ground scared the animals. 274 00:18:55,880 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 8: Los animos borquesta group was esperando but yeahando, yeah says yeah, 275 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:18,200 Speaker 8: you're kles pass. 276 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:24,239 Speaker 2: The animals were scared. They went crazy, running in all 277 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,320 Speaker 2: directions without knowing where to go. The monkeys screamed. It 278 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:29,480 Speaker 2: made me so sad that I. 279 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:33,760 Speaker 8: Said no more, no mass, no mas. 280 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 3: Jose left the. 281 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 2: Oil company and became a guide to Tippuccini sixteen years ago. 282 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,399 Speaker 2: Four years in he came face to face with a 283 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:50,480 Speaker 2: black panther. That's his favorite wildlife encounter to date. It 284 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 2: was like a dream for me seeing the black jaguar, 285 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,439 Speaker 2: the black panther. Jose voted to stop drilling in the 286 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 2: I T T Block and was glad the referendum passed. 287 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 8: Is tamo vibn tiendos impacto los cambia klimatic pediril mundo uyatos. 288 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,880 Speaker 2: Well living and feeling the effects of climate change. I'd 289 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 2: ask the world to promote caring for nature, because it's 290 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:21,119 Speaker 2: everybody's lung, not just Latin Americans or Amazonians. The world 291 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 2: is for everyone. Indeed, the referendum was celebrated around the 292 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,879 Speaker 2: world as a step toward protecting nature and slowing climate change, 293 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:34,399 Speaker 2: but the vote only stops extraction in one oil block. 294 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 2: When ITT closes, six others will still overlap Yasuni National Park, 295 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 2: and there are dozens more around Ecuador. The vote doesn't 296 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 2: affect trilling in any of those blocks. The good news 297 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 2: is that closing ITT will leave about seven hundred million 298 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 2: barrels of oil underground. That oil alone means three million 299 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,200 Speaker 2: metric tons of carbon dioxide won't be emitted to the atmosphere. 300 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 2: But the symbolic impact of this referendum maybe even stronger. 301 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:04,040 Speaker 2: Here's Kelly swing again. 302 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 3: Yes to me, probably eighty percent of that land area 303 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 3: is still pretty much what it was one hundred years 304 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 3: ago or three hundred years ago. When you see, you know, 305 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 3: the people turn out and vote for something like this, 306 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 3: you say, oh, this is not a lost cause. There's 307 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:28,200 Speaker 3: plenty out there to save, and there's plenty of interest 308 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 3: in saving it. 309 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 2: Oil has been Ecuador's biggest export for fifty years. It 310 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 2: spurred huge economic growth in the seventies. The country sends 311 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 2: a good chunk of oil to the US too. It's 312 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 2: California's second largest source of crude. But that oil won't 313 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:49,200 Speaker 2: last forever. By some estimates, Ecuador will become a net 314 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 2: importer of oil by twenty thirty one. Ecuador will have 315 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:57,360 Speaker 2: to outgrow its oil dependency sooner or later. The referendum 316 00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:01,719 Speaker 2: means that that move is coming early for itt. Carlos 317 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,919 Speaker 2: Larrea is an economist to help design Gorrea's proposal to 318 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 2: leave the IT block untouched back in two thousand and seven. 319 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,679 Speaker 2: He says the most important thing for Ecuador's economy is 320 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 2: to diversify. 321 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 9: Oil has been the most important single export product for 322 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 9: about fifty years, and Ecuador badly needs a policy of 323 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 9: economic diversification. And our position is that actually the most 324 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 9: important endowments of ecuadors its biodiversity and its cultural diversity 325 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 9: and richness. Ecuador needs to preserve nature in the future 326 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:54,480 Speaker 9: in order to survive as a peaceable country. 327 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 2: Larrea points to growing exports from the Amazon, like chocolate 328 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,280 Speaker 2: and guayusa, a plant that's brewed like tea. The region 329 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 2: could also expand its tourism sector, though Ecuador's recent increase 330 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:10,399 Speaker 2: in crime might scare off potential visitors. La ree stress 331 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 2: that diversification is key, not just shifting dependence from one 332 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 2: export to another. He doesn't want to see Ecuador rely 333 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:21,400 Speaker 2: too heavily on another product or service that could run out, 334 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:26,919 Speaker 2: lose value, or get shut down by a popular vote. 335 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,560 Speaker 2: Gonzolo Rivestors. The ecologist sees the ITT result as an 336 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,199 Speaker 2: opportunity for Ecuador to take control of its future. 337 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:38,760 Speaker 4: It is a precedent for whatever can happen, and I 338 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,200 Speaker 4: think also opens now the door to have the discussion 339 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,159 Speaker 4: on what to do next, because in twenty years is 340 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:47,440 Speaker 4: not going to be Ecuadorians voting to the old companies 341 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,199 Speaker 4: to leave. The old companies are are going to be 342 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 4: gone because there's not going to be more oil to stract. 343 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,439 Speaker 4: So I think now is a good moment. If you 344 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 4: ask me once you know I tit or wild ITTs 345 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 4: retired that we said, okay, what is coming next for Jamison. 346 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 2: Drilled is an original Critical Frequency production. This episode was 347 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 2: reported and written by me Macy Lipkin. Our senior editors 348 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 2: are Alien Brown and Sarah Ventry. 349 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 6: Our senior producer is Martin Saltz. 350 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,440 Speaker 10: Austwick, who also does our sound design and compose most 351 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 10: of the music in this episode. 352 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,919 Speaker 2: The episode was mixed and mastered by Peter Duff. 353 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:34,360 Speaker 6: Fact checking by Wudan jan Al Atwick is by Matt Fleming. 354 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 10: Our first time in My attorney is James Wheedon. 355 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,960 Speaker 2: The show was created by Amy Westerboldt, who also helped 356 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 2: edit this episode. 357 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 10: You can find related videos, photos, and print stories for 358 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:46,800 Speaker 10: this series, along with all the documentation that we have 359 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 10: to go along with the series, at drill dot Media. 360 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 6: You can also subscribe to our newsletter there. 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