Big oil company hurts nature – level 2
25-03-2025 07:00
Ecopetrol, a big oil company in Colombia, pollutes many places, including rivers and wetlands.
A former worker found secret reports of oil spills from 1989 to 2018. The company never reported some of them, but it says it follows the law. Andrés worked for Ecopetrol and saw harmful water pollution. He shared this information with journalists. After this, he got death threats and had to leave Colombia. The oil industry in the country has problems with violence. Security companies sometimes work with dangerous groups.
People who speak against Ecopetrol are often in danger. Many received threats, and some were even killed. Andrés now lives in Germany and works to protect the environment.
Difficult words: former (existing in the past), death threat (when someone promises to kill a person), violence (hurting people and causing damage).
You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.
What events led Andrés to leave Colombia and eventually work in Germany, and how is the Colombian oil industry described in terms of the challenges it faces?
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