Environmental Photo Essay
Oil drilling by Texaco (Chevron) has wreaked havoc on the Ecuadorian Amazon in Coca. Mitch Anderson has a well executed photo essay exploring the effects on the region of estimated spilled “17 million gallons of oil” and about “18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater” into the rivers and streams. Local residents have endured an ongoing public health crisis as result. Anderson’s essay is first in a series of documenting the “cultural and environmental destruction in this region of Ecuador by Chevron.”
I chose to highlight this photo essay for a couple reasons. One being that I am also in an energy and climate change course this semester, and just viewed the documentary “Gasland” by Josh Fox. I highly recommend viewing this film if you are interested in learning how hydraulic fracturing has contaminated residents’ homes all over the United States. There is proof alone in the video footage after video footage of people able to set their tap water on fire…
Another reason would be that environmental issues today are especially important to cover from a photographer’s standpoint. I would be interested in exploring something along these lines for a photo project in the future.
