Oronto Douglas: The BP Disaster: Lessons from the Niger Delta

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Oronto Douglas  for a discussion of the impact of the major oil companies on the ecology and politics of Nigeria. Drawing on his experience as a native of the Niger Delta and a leader of the environmental movement there, Oronto Douglas traces the struggle for environmental justice in his homeland. He analyzes the problems facing the new President of Nigeria and discusses his own role in the new administration. Oronto Douglas then analyzes the BP disaster in the American Gulf Coast and compares that tragedy to the experience of the Niger Delta. He discusses the impact of the BP spill on global consciousness and identifies the conditions necessary for a global response to the devastation of the environment resulting from the voracious global appetite for oil.