Ecuador

Ecuador relies on oil as a source of income, but as we have all heard before, we are slowly destroying our planet by extracting this oil. The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, has set up a unique proposal to European countries, including Great Britain as of this week. He wants someone to pay Ecuador $3 billion to not drill in the Yasani National Park, located in the Amazon. Correa says that would be half of what he would make by drilling, but that it would save our planet by decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide caused by drilling. According to Ecuador 410 million metric tons of carbon dioxide would be polluting our earth if we did not pay them off. Not only that, but there are Amazon Indian tribes still living in the forests, and they would be polluting them. It doesn’t stop them from drilling other parts of the Amazon, but it would save the national park from being destroyed.

Engler, Mark, and Nadia Martinez "PAY'EM NOT TO DRILL." Mother Jones 33.3 (2008): 40. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 27 Oct. 2009.