1. In 2004 EnCana received its first barrels of oil from its OCP pipeline, constructed in Ecuador. The pipeline runs from Lago Agrio to the coast of Ecuador spanning a distance of almost 503 kilometers. In its wake lies dozens of towns, farms and homes that have had to adapt their lives to accompany it. The indigenous have to deal with extreme pollution from leaks and spills, relocation due to buildings on their property being in the pipeline’s path, and abusive militia who are sent to deal with them should they refuse. Although EnCana claims to have sponsored aid programs and to have created this project for mutual benefits with the people of Ecuador, the only thing the indigenous have received is suffering.
2. A social movement makes its way through four different phases on its way to fruition. Starting in emergence, there is little organization and few formal plans drawn. There is simply a widespread discontent with a social problem. As more people become discontent they begin narrowing down the causes and people responsible for the civil unrest in the phase called coalescence. This paves the way for more large-scale plans to be drawn as more people become involved. Bureaucratization occurs when the Social Movement Organizations (SMOs) unify across a large area, forming a hierarchy and a formal system of leadership. Finally a social movement enters into Decline, in which it dissipates or becomes institutionalized and assimilated into the system. The causes of decline are numerous including: repression, co-optation, success, or failure. 3. My social movement would be simple and beneficial to both EnCana and the indigenous. Initially the indigenous would be given the opportunity to work for a good wage cleaning up the oil spills and maintaining the pipelines. This would prevent further spills and create environmentally proactive jobs for the people of Ecuador After a few years of trial and hard work the pipeline would be running more efficiently and the excess money
