Check out the Antennae

We have been travelling by boat visiting the rainforest. ! It is amazing that we have connection to the "outside world". Slow, and it works. !. !!

 River transport. No roads here. !

 An 180 year old Kapok Tree. Check the "overground" roots. !

What a Rainbow.! This was the view coming back in the boat this evening. !

Family visits

 We are given a "full on" lunch.

The ground water and river water is dangerous to drink because of oil pollution, so these rainwater filtration and storage systems have greatly benefited many communities.

 Once again oil underneath the mud under the water.

Oil pipes. Each well has a pipe which leads to local separation plants, where the gas is flared. The oil and water is separated. The highly toxic water taken from the oil is re-injected deep into the ground. Previously , under the Chevron Regime the water was discharged into rivers and streams, polluting and killing wherever it went. The separation plants were set up near streams to disperse this highly toxic water into the environment. Chevron has committed a MASSIVE crime against Humanity and Nature. There are over 1,000 wells in this area. !

Some words around yesterday's horror story. The "Toxic Tour".

Yesterday we flew into Coca, an "oil" town. First we went to visit an oil separation plant. 

In the first picture you can see the flares burning off the gas from the separation process. The flaring process releases poisons into the atmosphere and I could smell benzine in the air.

The oil is separated into gas, oil and water. Previously the water which is heavilly polluted was discharged into waterways. These separartion facilities were always situated by waterways so that the water could be "flushed" away. You will see in the second picture, a spade full of what we would expect to be earth. It is earth saturated with oil.

The next picture shows Donald taking a "core" sample of "soil" from an area where a family had their drinking water well. They all contracted cancer. 

We then visited Servio, who's family have been decimated by cancer. He showed us his land and made a small hole in the ground to show us the black ooze just underneath the surface. This was an oil pit. Typically every "oil well" had a least 3 pits where raw oil was pumped to ascertain levels of supply.

He showed us another area of his land where an oil pit had been set fire to to reduce levels of crude in the pit. Just below the thin green layer of grass was burnt oil, a black glass like substance, and below that is waste crude oil.

I have never seen such blatant planned disregard for Nature and Human life.  This could be described as both Genocide and Ecocide. The Amazonian ecosystem has been destroyed.

Is Chevron guilty of pollution in the Amazon Basin.?

 Air Pollution

 Into the forest.

 The stream used as a "waste" for water separated from the oil.

 A spade full of earth.

 Making  small hole in the forest.

Oil, so toxic that those gloves are now hazardous waste.

David mining. ! No, taking roots out of the irrigation line tunnels. Cool work, 31 degrees outside. !