Corporate Environmental Destruction
I204
Progress Report #3
Solai Meyappan
For this portion of our project I
will be discussing Roles of Corporations and the impact they leave on
Environmental Destruction. Unfortunately
corporations have their priority set on maximum revenue, and they tend to put
environmental concerns on the backburner.
They leave a huge impact on Deforestation, Agriculture, and
Resources. Corporations are supposed to
follow the Free Prior Informed Consent when it comes to Environmental
Destruction, but they tend to disregard the situation. If corporations do not start to change their
views on running a successful company, then rapidly we will see a decline in
our Environment.
Emma
Venard
My
contribution is on the role of governments and individuals in corporate
environmental degradation. I have done research on the actions governments have
taken in either fighting or encouraging such corporate actions. Governments
should be the strongest protectors of the land but this is not always the case.
I have researched various ways they react to corporate environmental destruction.
I will be further examining the influence of individuals on extractive
industries and what tools they used to combat it, whether through legal venues
or illegal actions.
Victoria
Tudor
Case
Study of the effects of Extraction Industries:
La
Oroya, Peru is one of the most polluted place in the world due to the mining
and processing of heavy metals. The emissions and wastes from the plant expose
the residents to toxic lead, copper, zinc, and sulfur dioxide. Studies have
shown the lead content in children of the town are 3 times higher than the WHO
safety limit. Studies have also shown lead, arsenic, and cadmium soil
contamination.
The plant is owned by the Doe Run
Company, an affiliate of Renco Group, whose CEO is the American billionaire Ira
Rennert. Initially, Doe Run bought the plant for an extremely low cost on the
condition that they would improve the living conditions in the town. Although
Doe Run claims that emissions have reduced, conditions have not measurably
improved, and there are no plans to cleanup the preexisting toxicity.
This
video shows images of the situation:
Lori Probasco
I have watched a documentary and read several articles on
the Yala Swamp in Kenya. A piece of land in this swamp has been taken over by
Dominion Farms. Dominion Farms sees itself as doing something good for the
people by bringing in new technology and what they project will be a steep
increase in the development in this area. However, the local people say that
the things this group is doing is changing the whole landscape, and affecting
their careers. Dominion Farms responds by saying that the people can adapt, and
take on new careers, such as fishing, instead of raising animals. I have good
information on what the local political group is doing, what human rights
groups are doing, and what the corporation is doing, so that all sides of the matter
are presented to the class. I just started putting together some slides for our
collective powerpoint.
Sam
Alig
What I have contributed to my action campaign group is I
have found a case study of an example of indigenous people that are currently
fighting a battle for their rights and the rights to protect their land. The
study is on indigenous tribes in Brazil that are going to be displaced if the 3rd
worlds largest dam will be built. If construction continues, which it currently
is, 25,000 people will lose their homes and way of life. I have also found an
article pertaining to what they are currently doing to try and fight for their
rights.
Marjorie Richards
I have identified organizations
that are concerned with extractive industries and human rights violations that
pertain to the environment. One of the leading organizations is Oxfam. A few of
the major issues about which Oxfam is concerned is natural resources, land, and
agriculture in developing countries. Their leading platform on the issues is
that they “empower farmers, fishers, and others to defend their right to
life-sustaining resources.” Oxfam lobbies for rural communities and offers
hands on help. Another important organization is Friends of the Earth
International. They “campaign on today’s
most urgent environmental and social issue. [They] challenge the current model
of economic and corporate globalization, and promote solution that will help to
create environmentally sustainable and socially just societies.” Friends of the
Earth International raises awareness about human rights violations concerning
land, agriculture and extractive industries while also leading protests and
lobbying for the rights of rural communities. Both of these organizations try
to help the communities be heard and inform the communities of their rights.
Oxfam and Friends of the Earth International are two main nonprofit
organizations that deal with human rights violations and the environment. When
I have been informed of the individual case studies, I will also add NGOs that
worked primarily with those incidents and add them to the presentation.
Emily Metallic
I am assigned to the general information
segment of the presentation. Essentially, I am responsible for introducing the
presentation and topic to the class. Because this is a broad and relatively
cursory assignment, I will also compile the presentation and take on a sort of
project manager role. So far I have made my portion of the presentation,
beginning with laying out the organization of the presentation in the following
order: introduction; case studies; roles of corporations, governments and
individuals; and solutions. In the introduction section, I have defined the
terms: corporation, environmental destruction and indigenous communities. I
also explain why the topic is important. I found a video that links consumer
dollars with government corruption and community benefits. I am looking
for better videos and graphics to accompany my portion of the presentation.
Below are the links I've used with brief annotations.
http://www.fwrgroup.com.au/environmental-degradation.html - definition of
environmental destruction
http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/C/Corporation.aspx - definition of
corporation
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/workshop_data_background.doc - definition
of indigenous people
- most cited
descriptions of the concept of the indigenous was given by Jose R.
Martinez Cobo, the Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention
of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in his famous Study on the
Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations
- http://www.globaled.org/curriculum/indigenous.html -
indigenous peoples facts
