Nigerian Oil Crisis:Humanitarian Issue

The most crushing part of exporting these trade goods is the incentive. Nigeria is one of our primary sources for fossil fuels and it will continue to be unless humanitarians do win the battle. Nigeria's citizen's "claim that their lands are being snatched from them forcefully without compensation and their source of livlihood(fishing) is been destroyed by recurrent oil spillage...more than 90% of the natural gas extracted in the oil wells are causing more environmental damage." Times Magazine reports two groups that have been supportive and active to ban the oil trade from the Niger Delta is the Movement for the Emaciation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF). "The damage crude oil has done in the Niger Delta is enormous while the local indigenous people there have seen little if any improvement in their standard of living and still suffer the damage to their natural environmental and source of livlihood."This global conflict has proved to be continuous and will continue to be until the Nigerian environment is completely deprived of oil from the selfishness of its opposing governments.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/190564.stm
http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/08/23/niger-delta-oil-spill

Nigerian Oil Crisis

"Nigeria is the 12th largest producer of crude in the world and the eighth largest exporter," says one source. Nigeria is also among one of the most neglected developing nations. It is one of the most poor regions in the world though the most fossil fueled enhanced. In 1937, Shell oil companies began to take over. This is when destruction began. It was even offered the rights to own the whole territory of Nigeria. This is something I cannot even fathom that of all things to inherit a territory, it is a greedy company supporting ruinous trade goods. Of course, companies like this are run by grandiloquent businessmen who's aim is to make an investment. Innocent African families stricken by poverty are easily overrun by concerns for the stock market measures. No doubt, Nigerians economy has worsened primarily for this reason.  These oil producers take about "7.5% of Nigeria's land mass, known as the Niger delta." We, though, as Americans, benefit from this predicament, because 85% of our oil export earnings comes from the Niger Delta.

http://nigerdeltadaily.com/

American Oil Companies affecting Nigeria

When I first read about the history dating back from these companies, I felt sick. The possession of Nigerian territories has been evident for over four decades. One example is the Chevron Texaco Corp. It has been devastating Nigeria and it still continues to try. It was only in 1998 when communities decided to have lawsuits against this issue of unfair trade. Winning the lawsuit, thankfully, Nigeria had Chevron Texaco Corp.  loose 750 million dollars and sabotage of wells and pipes which were caused by local civilians in 2003. In 1998, Chevron Texaco "could be made to stand trial for civil damages United States on allegations that it was linked to the deaths of nine people allegedly shot by soldiers during protests on an off shore oil platform." Most of the residents in recent reports have felt that oil companies using the Delta fossil fuels are causing "rival community groups in a strategy to deprive them of oil earnings." It shocks me to know that these greedy gas companies could still try to rob the people of a more sanitary environment even after knowing about this torture Nigerians faced from previous happenings. Another prominent company that quickly ruined the lives of many Nigerian citizens is Shell. Shell's dispute has been re-known for a decade. The company's "lack of transparency encourages villagers to fight each other for a share of the oil money." This political tug-of-war between the local communities and the prosperous gas companies has caused a collision between genuine humanitarian efforts and basic needs such as fossil fuels.

http://www.energybulletin.net/note/1251

Nigerian Oil Crisis

After discovering many articles on the Niger Delta's problems I have found the conflicts between humanitarians and governmental agencies exporting oil very heart wrenching. I was unaware that "the Niger Delta region supplies nearly half of all the crude oil that the united states imports."It's shameful to me part of a nation supporting peace, yet devastating a poor economy progressively while aware of this crisis and yet this trade unit is still progressing. The "Nigerian federal government estimates that there have been 7,000 spills between 1970 and 2000. More than 1,000 cases of oil spillage have been filed against energy." It was a conflict that began in 1908 when Germany took over various regions of the Niger Delta and it still continues today as Nigeria's economy degrades and citizens are left without proper hydration and food. I cannot even fathom how fathom the heartache humanitarians face when confronting the enormous issues caused by selfish oil companies.


http://www.energybulletin.net/note/1251

Nigerian Oil Crisis

The Niger Delta oil problem has left many innocent Nigerians desolate.

How could we be attacked with nuclear devices?

     America is a giant commercial hub of the world. The amount of freight that passes through her ports is massive. One of the easiest ways that America could be attacked is through this system of shipping. Sure we could scan all the cargo that comes through but the problem lies in that it’s already on our shores! Someone could put a simple timing device on a nuke and the precise timing of cargo vessels will ensure an accurate delivery of a bomb on that particular port. Another way is with a dirty bomb, a bomb that is made up of conventional explosives and radioactive materiel. The purpose of this type of nuclear attack would be to spread radiation as far as possible and kill or sicken as many people as possible, the radiation will be spread by the wind and carried very far, just like traces of radiation from Japan have been found in New England. The ability of a group to build the bomb is only limited by the recourses need to construct the device. The knowledge is taught in most universities around the world in advanced physics and chemistry courses. It took one minute to find a workable nuclear schematic online, below.

The black market can be used to find all the material needed to build a bomb, like the one set up in Pakistan by Dr. A. Q. Khan. Dr. Khan is credited with the proliferation of nuclear material to countries like Iraq, Iran, Libya, and North Korea enabling these countries to start secret nuclear programs. Is it then such a far jump in logic to think that groups like Al-Qaeda that are sworn to destroy America and supported by countries like Iran and maybe Pakistan to one day get their hands one some nuclear material? Or that a country like North Korea that is financially bankrupt by American approved sanctions to sell some nuclear material to the highest bidder? These are possibilities that should really be looked at when people talk of “safe” nuclear power.