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Difficulty: MediumDebates about the Environment after 1900

Source: Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian author and environmental activist, address to the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), 1992.

"We are going to demand our rights. We are going to demand that the oil companies pay for the destruction of our environment. For thirty-five years, Shell has taken billions of dollars from our land, but they have left us only with polluted air, ruined soil, and poisoned water where fish can no longer live. Our traditional way of life, based on farming and fishing, has been destroyed by this environmental degradation. The Nigerian government has collaborated with these multinational corporations to oppress our people. We must organize and protest peacefully to defend our environment and our future."

The protests and arguments described in the passage are best understood as a response to which of the following developments in the late twentieth century?

  1. A
    The negative ecological consequences of introducing Green Revolution chemical fertilizers and high-yield seeds to West Africa.
  2. B
    The re-establishment of direct colonial rule by European powers seeking to secure control over strategic petroleum reserves.
  3. The environmental and economic challenges faced by developing nations due to resource extraction by multinational corporations.Answer
  4. D
    The complete cultural homogenization of indigenous populations resulting from the unchecked spread of Western media and values.

Answer

The environmental and economic challenges faced by developing nations due to resource extraction by multinational corporations.
The correct answer is the option stating that the situation reflects environmental and economic challenges from resource extraction by multinational corporations. The passage describes the struggle of the Ogoni people against Shell Oil, illustrating how transnational corporate activities in the late twentieth century led to severe local environmental destruction, impacting traditional livelihoods in the Global South and sparking local environmental justice movements.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source and context of the stimulus.
The text is an excerpt from a 1992 speech by Ken Saro-Wiwa, a Nigerian environmental activist protesting against oil companies (specifically Shell) in Nigeria.
Understanding the author's identity and the historical setting helps contextualize the late-twentieth-century environmental movement in the Global South.
2
Identify the core complaint and historical process highlighted in the speech.
The author argues that multinational corporations have extracted wealth while leaving behind severe environmental pollution (polluted air, ruined soil, poisoned water) that has ruined traditional farming and fishing.
This links the local struggle directly to the globalized economy and debates about environmental degradation caused by industrial resource extraction.
3
Evaluate the options based on historical accuracy and relevance to the text.
The option concerning corporate resource extraction and its environmental impact on developing countries matches the context. Other options mistake the issue for Green Revolution agriculture, formal imperialism, or cultural assimilation.
This isolates the correct answer by matching the stimulus details to broader twentieth-century global developments.

Key Concept

Debates about the environment and globalization after 1900
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Debates about the Environment after 1900

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