We thank God for the grassroots and the civil society organizations who are working to protect the people and the planet. In a historic referendum on August 20th, 59% of Ecuadorian voters demonstrated their support for keeping over 726 million barrels of oil underground in the Yasuni National Park. The Choco Andino, a Natural Reserve close to Quito, also received 68% support forbidding mining exploitation in the territory. These binding sentences permanently ban oil drilling and mining extraction.