Wander With Wild Things

www.sosyasuni.org

The president of Ecuador has made this unprecendented offer (see website) in a part of the world where people get shot for defying Big Money. I learned about this at the Society for Conservation Biology conference this past summer and I think you could have knocked me over with a feather. The deadline for this offer was December 2008 -- I do not know what the current status is.

The heartbreaking part: all it takes to keep this oil (literally only days' worth) underground and the rainforest (among the richest and most diverse in the world) intact is a sum of cash that is a pittance in comparison to what nations spend. Less than it would cost for us to buy one cutting edge fighter jet, an amount of money our government spends on toys without blinking an eye. On top of that, the price the president asks is only half the estimated value of the oil if it were to be extracted. And NO ONE, NO ONE has stepped up with any cash. NO ONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD, or at least they hadn't as of July 2008.

This should be front page news, given all the talk our society is giving to trying to be "greener." It doesn't get any easier than this -- just write a check and a huge area of priceless carbon sink and biodiversity is saved. No actual effort or inconvenience or thought required!! Sort of makes me ill even thinking about the lack of response....

And if that is not heartwrenching enough, read this letter from a group of indigenous women from this section of Ecuador.

Spread the word, wanderers, I sent this link to the NYTimes main page and international department to see if they would cover it and had no luck.