| Sunday, 10 June 2007 04:21 |
Dear friend,
Every once in a while, a leader in goverment makes a
proposal that can actually help the environment. The
new president of Ecuador Rafael Correa has just
announced that the government would keep the oil in
the ground under one of the most precious and
extensive Amazonian jungles on Earth if matching
contributions could come from the international
community as well (conservation groups, other nations,
private donors, investors, loan defaults, combinations
of these, etc.)
Correa has had enormous pressure from just about
everybody (except for environmentalists, indigenous
and poor peoples) to start drilling oil on a 1 million
hectare tract in Yasuni National Park, under which
sits at least 1 bbls of heavy crude oil, worth over
$30 billion at today's prices.
But Yasuni National Park also houses one of the
richest, most biodiverse primary rainforests on Earth.
It is also a source of clean fresh water, two tribes
voluntarily isolated, and an enormous carbon dioxide
sink to mitigate global warming. In the long run, the
value of this treasure far exceeds anything that could
be extracted. The exploitation scenario would surely
destroy the region, in similar ways already destroyed
further north in the Ecuadorian Oriente.
I am working with the Ministry of Energy to help
spread the word about this exciting possibility. In
Correa's proposal, Ecuador would match funds with
donations from the international community to keep the
oil in the ground and preserve the ecosystem for all
time. Ecuador is a poor country, and this potential
sacrifice in short-term revenues to save a significant
rainforest is an unprecedented move by a government,
and thus provides the rest of us new opportunities to
team up and set an example to the world.
The following link explains to you the details of this
project. Needed over the first year is $350 million,
not that much considering the preciousness of this
threatened ecosystem:
www.amazoniaporlavida.org
I will also be posting updates on this urgent
undertaking, along with progress on Montesueños, our
new retreat center for peace and sustainability in the
Ecuadorian Andes, where we will be having conferences
on this and other important issues. The websites are:
www.brian-oleary.com and www.montesuenos.org
Let us know how you can help, what ideas you might
have, and please spread the word! Thank you.
All best,
Brian O'L oleary1998@yahoo.com
|
Galactic Friends Updates 
