Tag: Extractive Industries

The Sacrifice Zones of American “Energy Independence”: Pipeline and Refinery Expansion in the Chicago Region

August 16, 2018

By Graham Pickren, Roosevelt University § The United States is seemingly on its way to “energy independence.” Since the oil price increases and gas lines of the 1970s shocked the sensibilities of an American population blissfully unaware of the inter-dependencies that structured their everyday lives, both Democratic and Republican regimes have aggressively pursued domestic energy production … More The Sacrifice Zones of American “Energy Independence”: Pipeline and Refinery Expansion in the Chicago Region

Contamination of the Social Fabric: Sápara Leaders’ Resistance to Oil Companies in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Narrow Vision of Environmental Impact Studies

March 20, 2018

By Lindsay Ofrias, Princeton University § In the shadow of the world’s worst case of oil contamination, the Sápara, a small group of indigenous people, are desperately protecting their island of pristine rainforest in the Ecuadorean Amazon. Once a nationality numbering in the tens of thousands, only a few hundred Sápara people survive today, their population … More Contamination of the Social Fabric: Sápara Leaders’ Resistance to Oil Companies in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Narrow Vision of Environmental Impact Studies

Reclaiming Nature? Indigenous Homeland and Oil Sands Territory

March 7, 2017

By Tara Joly, University of Aberdeen § Settler colonial relations construct the Athabasca region as extractive oil sands territory, yet the region remains homeland for Indigenous peoples, including Métis individuals. In my doctoral research, I argue that oil sands reclamation – the process of cleaning up extractive spaces by returning the land to a “productive” or … More Reclaiming Nature? Indigenous Homeland and Oil Sands Territory

Mild Apocalypse – Feral Landscapes in Denmark: Reflections on an Exhibition

February 21, 2017

By Nathalia S. Brichet, Frida Hastrup, and Felix Riede § From the late 1930s until 1970, low-grade brown coal was extracted at Søby in mainland Denmark. This activity carried out largely by manual labour massively transformed, if not destroyed, the surrounding landscape. The need for Danish brown coal extraction was spurred by increasing domestic demand, but even more … More Mild Apocalypse – Feral Landscapes in Denmark: Reflections on an Exhibition