Our good friends at Shell seriously have no place to talk. As bad as the Deepwater Horizon disaster has been, Shell has created problems as bad, if not worse (and mostly unreported), in Nigeria. A few quick numbers to throw your way on this, courtesy of The Guardian’s recent exposé on Shell:
- 14,000 tons of oil spilled by Shell in 2009
- 98% Shell’s estimate of spills caused by vandalism, theft or sabotage
- 7,000 number of oil spills Shell had in Nigeria between 1970 and 2000
- 2,000 the number of official spillage sites in Nigeria alone source
Two spills, two responses
- There are more than 300 spills, major and minor, a year. It happens all the year round. The whole environment is devastated. The latest revelations highlight the massive difference in the response to oil spills. In Nigeria, both companies and government have come to treat an extraordinary level of oil spills as the norm.
- Friends of the Earth International’s Nigerian head Nnimo Bassey • Regarding the government’s response to the spill, which seems to only highlight the differences between the American and Nigerian responses to major oil spills. With nearly 1.5 million barrels reportedly spilled in the Niger River’s delta in the last 50 years, it seems that the country has resigned itself to the fate. “In Nigeria, they have been living above the law,” Bassey said. They are now clearly a danger to the planet. The dangers of this happening again and again are high. They must be taken to the international court of justice.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith •
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