Article 6: Chapter 4
Chevron's Equador Morass
This article goes further into the case mentioned in Crude World, in which the people of Equador sued Texaco (now also known as Chevron) for damages and suffering. It also goes into how much the oil company fought against being held accountable, which seems to be a very common theme.
Article 5: Chapter 3
Shell losing 43,000 barrels a day... in Niger Delta
This article really shows the level of poverty and desperation created by the corrupt policies of oil companies in Nigeria. In reality, the practices are losing money for the oil companies. By not providing for the local populations, they encourage theft of oil barrels, and under-the-table selling of that oil that will likely be even more dangerous than oil produced by the company itself.
Article 4: Chapter 6
Gallup Poll identifies widespread corruption in business
In chapter 6 of Crude World, Maas presents corruption as a simple way of life: something that is everywhere, and cannot be avoided. This poll essentially proves his point, which is extremely unfortunate. As the old saying goes - power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. These businesses, especially oil companies, have an enormous amount of power over the general public. So it seems that corruption is a way of life.
Article 3: Chapter 2
Chevron's Equador Morass
This article goes further into the case mentioned in Crude World, in which the people of Equador sued Texaco (now also known as Chevron) for damages and suffering. It also goes into how much the oil company fought against being held accountable, which seems to be a very common theme.
Article 5: Chapter 3
Shell losing 43,000 barrels a day... in Niger Delta
This article really shows the level of poverty and desperation created by the corrupt policies of oil companies in Nigeria. In reality, the practices are losing money for the oil companies. By not providing for the local populations, they encourage theft of oil barrels, and under-the-table selling of that oil that will likely be even more dangerous than oil produced by the company itself.
Article 4: Chapter 6
Gallup Poll identifies widespread corruption in business
In chapter 6 of Crude World, Maas presents corruption as a simple way of life: something that is everywhere, and cannot be avoided. This poll essentially proves his point, which is extremely unfortunate. As the old saying goes - power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. These businesses, especially oil companies, have an enormous amount of power over the general public. So it seems that corruption is a way of life.
Article 3: Chapter 2
This article really embodies the overt corruption that Maass described in Equatorial Guinea. In order to avoid facing consequences for the horrible way he is treating the people of his country, Obiang puts up a huge fight to keep the citizens out of reach of the media, particularly media associated with human rights organizations. By keeping media out, he is making sure that the world doesn't find out what he is doing, and he is able to continue getting away with it.
Article 2: Chapter 1
In this article, an Australian expert claims that "peak oil" will never happen, that the planet has plenty of supplies to keep feeding society's oil addiction. He points to the renewable energy sources being developed now as a kind of safety net for everyone, for the oil companies to keep doing business as they have been. I think this is the frame of mind that a lot of people find themselves trapped in. Just because sustainable energy sources exist doesn't mean we can stop trying - in no way are they prevalent enough yet in our society, and no matter what some "experts" might say, peak oil is coming - if it's not already here. It is a finite resource, and the world isn't prepared to accept that.
Article 1: Chapter 5
This article talks about a recent development in the worldwide business of oil. The rights to oil in Argentina were rebuked from a Spanish company, and companies all over Central and South America are retreating into more local resource consumption and less exportation. The way it is presented puts a good deal of strain on the leaders of oil companies all over to "get it back" - simply encouraging the dog-eat-dog politics that have sprung up regarding the whole business.
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