Oil Drilling and Production in the Brazilian Rainforest is the Newest Threat

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Remember when cattle ranching was the biggest threat to the Amazon rainforest? Now add the relentless quest for oil. The Ecuadorian government is currently planning to sell an enormous area of pristine rainforest to oil companies. Ever since I can remember being aware of the Amazon rainforest, my understanding was that big corporations were steadily razing it to make way for cows raised for beef. While illegal cattle ranching continues to be a major threat, oil interests have been hard to keep at bay.

Remember when cattle ranching was the biggest threat to the Amazon rainforest? Now add the relentless quest for oil. The Ecuadorian government is currently planning to sell an enormous area of pristine rainforest to oil companies.

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Ever since I can remember being aware of the Amazon rainforest, my understanding was that big corporations were steadily razing it to make way for cows raised for beef. While illegal cattle ranching continues to be a major threat, oil interests have been hard to keep at bay.

The government in Ecuador made a pitch to Chinese oil companies in Beijing last week as part of an effort to auction off more than three million hectares — that's more than 11,500 square miles — of Amazonian rainforest. The meeting was the fourth leg of a roadshow to publicize the bidding process. Ecuador’s ambassador to China called the prospective relationship a "win-win," Jonathan Kaiman reported in the Guardian.

Ecuadorian officials say the oil blocks on offer will be developed under "strict sustainability guidelines," but opposition groups can already imagine the devastation. Saying no may not be so easy, though. Ecuador owes China nearly $9 billion worth of oil in exchange for past cash loans per the CIA World Factbook.

Oil production valves in the Amazon via Shutterstock.

Read more at Discovery News.