Oil and gas are extracted all around us in Colorado, yet we rarely think about the spots where petroleum is taken from the earth, and what those spots look like after the drills go away.
There have been waves of publicity about fracturing rock formations to loosen gas on the Western Slope, and what that might do to groundwater. Front Range towns have grown accustomed to old pumpjacks flailing away at the earth in their backyards.
But where does the crude leak and pool up deep in the mountain hollows and rainforest clearings we never see? The documentary “Crude” begins to tell some of that tale, and is a disturbing education for anyone in your family interested in environmental issues and international justice.
“Crude” follows about two years in a much longer story of Ecuadoran native tribes’ efforts to get Chevron/Texaco to pay for an oil mess in their jungle. It’s a fairly straightforward documentary, leaning a bit toward the tribes’ case, but also spotlighting the questionable tactics and egos of plaintiff lawyers. It also underlines the complications of establishing blame from decades-old drilling authorized under far more lenient regimes.
Up to 30,000 Ecuadorans live near drilling areas where toxic mud and leaking petroleum wash through rainforest floors. They have been seeking redress for years, and a $27 billion recommended judgment against Chevron may take another decade of appeals. Chevron argues, with some effect, that the Ecuadoran national oil company took over their wells for years and may have caused the pollution themselves.
“Crude” is not for younger children, they’ll be bored and won’t want to read subtitles. But teenagers and college students will learn much about the attractions and limitations of activism, international law and alternative energy.
Rated: Not rated, with some crude language, mature content.
Best suited for: Teenagers, college students and other family members curious about the petroleum chain and the limits of environmental defense.
