S8 Ep4 | Constitutional Violation

Drilled

Critical Frequency

True Crime, Earth Sciences, Social Sciences, Science

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Melinda Janki has filed seven separate cases aimed at blocking oil drilling in Guyana, but only one of them explicitly names climate change as a problem the project is guaranteed to exacerbate. It’s a constitutional case that invokes Guyana’s constitutional right to a healthy environment—an amendment Janki herself helped to write. Plaintiffs Dr. Troy Thomas and Quedad DeFreitas argue that the government’s choice to fast-track permits and oil production threatens their right to a healthy environment, and the rights of future generations too. The government of Guyana argues that, ironically, it needs oil money to adapt to climate change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I grew up on an island called Wickenham.
0:09.5	It's an island in the Esuguaro River.
0:12.8	It's low right at the at about or even below sea level.
0:19.3	An important feature you will notice on the island is there is what we call this sea wall
0:24.8	or a sea dam.
0:27.2	It's necessary for keeping the ocean out.
0:31.0	This is Dr. Troy Thomas.
0:36.6	He's a math professor at the University of Guyana.
0:39.4	It's easy to tell when you're talking to him that he's a professor.
0:42.8	That quick description of his home island you just heard, it actually spanned about five
0:47.6	minutes because he wanted to explain a few things along the way.
0:51.8	Like what sort of island Wickenham is.
0:54.8	It's not a rock sticking up in the ocean.
0:59.8	Quite like we might have for a lot of Caribbean islands.
1:04.7	It's an island formed from the opposition where the large river brings down all this material
1:13.1	from higher areas and deposited at the mouth of the river.
1:18.0	There are more than 300 islands like these in the Esuguaro River, which is Guyana's largest
1:23.9	and having to keep the ocean out is not a problem that's unique to Wickenham.
1:29.9	Dan itself, while it's a large land mass, you'll find that more than 90% of its population
1:39.7	reside on a narrow strip, the coastal strip.
1:44.2	And that coastal strip where the population resides is below sea level.
1:51.0	It's not because Guyana's people have a particular affinity for the coast.
	...

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