Chevron's arguments

Chevron keeps saying it is not responsible for the mess Texaco left in the Ecuadorian jungle because Texaco left Ecuador 20 years ago. Why Chevron makes this argument is beyond my comprehension. The lawsuit is about the damage that was done by Texaco when it was operating in Ecuador between 1964 and 1992. It’s about over 900of Texaco’s substandard waste pits that continue to ooze oily slime into the soil and underground water, making people sick and causing them to die from cancer! The fact that Texaco left without cleaning it up just shows how little the company cares about the environment and the Ecuadorian people.

Lago Agrio 5 — an oil pit Texaco said it cleaned! It doesn’t look clean to me

For ten years in a US court, Texaco and then Chevron argued the case should be moved to Ecuador. The US court agreed, after both oil companies praised Ecuador’s courts for their fairness and independence. Promptly, the plaintiffs re-filed the exact, same lawsuit in Lago Agrio in 2003 — again for damages stemming from Texaco’s intentional and purposeful contamination of the Amazon rainforest. When evidence began to incriminate Chevron, the oil company’s views changed, and Chevron wanted out of Ecuador. Through its high-priced public relations and lobbying firms, Chevron began to disseminate inaccurate and misleading information to American politicians and journalists.

Most discount Chevron’s spin, which doesn’t stop Chevron from blaming Petroecuador. But this lawsuit is not about Petroecuador’s actions. Nothing in the lawsuit holds Chevron accountable for any action by Petroecuador unrelated to Texaco’s operations. As I understand, Chevron has the legal right to sue Petroecuador, if Chevron is convinced that the state-owned company shares responsibility. I also understand that Chevron tried to pull Petroecuador into the lawsuit through related litigation filed in US courts and has failed each time.

Avatar

I saw the multimillion dollar James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar” the other day. It’s a truly captivating story about an innocent humanoid Na'vi tribe being attacked by humans who are after some precious resource. The indigenous Na’vi people are blue and might look like aliens but the story seems very real. Raiding a foreign nation, killing its people just to exploit their land… sounds a lot like Chevron in Ecuador, doesn’t it?

Texaco came to Ecuador and pretended to be everyone’s friend. The company got the oil it wanted but it also contaminated the land and water and destroyed the lives of unsuspecting Ecuadorians.

I wish that story had a good ending! If only Chevron finally understood avoiding responsibility and refusing to bring any relief to the Ecuadorians is simply WRONG!

Here’s an interesting article comparing Na’vi’s struggle to what many small nations are going through while fighting against the big oil:

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1222-hance_avatar.html

Press release

Today I read a press release from Congresswoman Linda Sánchez office asking the United States Trade Representative to ignore Chevron’s recent appeal to take away Ecuador’s trade preferences. Congresswoman Sanchez is trying to explain that the plaintiffs “deserve their day in court” and the US Trade Representative should not let Chevron disrupt the lawsuit. I could not agree more!

Here’s the press release, the full text of the letter and the link to an interesting Los Angeles Times article about the issue:

Members of Congress Urge USTR to Ignore Chevron Petition on Ecuador Legal Case

Members Sign Letter Expressing Concern About Chevron Efforts to Yank Ecuador’s Trade Benefits

Washington D.C. –Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and 25 other Members of Congress are urging the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to reject efforts by Chevron to threaten the cancellation of trade benefits for Ecuador because the oil giant faces a multi-billion dollar liability in the South American nation for allegedly dumping billions of gallons of toxic oil waste into the rivers and streams of the Amazon rainforest.

A letter sent December 15 to USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk, says: “We write to express our concern about news reports indicating that Chevron Corporation continues to request that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) withhold U.S. trade preferences for Ecuador. We urge you to reject Chevron’s request and reaffirm that U.S. trade agreements will not be used as leverage to interfere in private claims processing through Ecuador’s legal process.”

“Chevron pushing the Administration to take the extraordinary step of yanking special trade preferences for Ecuador turns the goal of the U.S. trade preferences program on its head,” said Rep. Linda Sánchez. “Trade preferences should be used as a hand up to provide needed help to the families of developing nations, not a paddle to punish governments who refuse to succumb to the demands of multi-billion dollar corporations.”

When it came to her attention that Chevron had been lobbying Members of Congress and the Obama Administration to punish Ecuador because its government refused to intervene in a private lawsuit, Rep. Linda Sánchez began an awareness campaign. Testifying before the Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee hearing on trade preference systems, Sánchez advocated for tens of thousands of indigenous Ecuadorians who have been seeking remediation from Chevron for more than fifteen years from a human and environmental tragedy to have their day in court. The population in the affected area suffers from high rates of cancer and birth defects, and too many mothers have experienced miscarriages and the loss of a child.

“Rather than allowing this case to come to a conclusion, embarking on clean-up efforts, or even seeking mediation, Chevron has engaged in a lobbying effort that looks like little more than extortion,” continued Sánchez. “Apparently, if it can’t get the outcome it wants from the Ecuadorian court system, Chevron will use the U.S. government to deny trade benefits until Ecuador ‘cries uncle.’”

Rep. Sánchez and her colleagues write: “We do not prejudge the outcome of the case, nor do we take a position on the litigation. We do believe, however, that the tens of thousands of indigenous residents of Ecuador who have brought this case deserve their day in court. We further believe that the USTR should not interfere in an ongoing judicial matter, particularly when this case involves environmental, health and human right issues that have a regional, and even global, importance.”


Full text of the letter is below:

December 14, 2009
The Honorable Ron Kirk
United States Trade Representative
600 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20508

Re: Ecuador’s Inclusion in Andean Trade Preferences Benefits

Dear Ambassador Kirk:

We are writing to express our concern about news reports indicating that Chevron Corporation continues to request that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) withhold U.S. trade preferences for Ecuador. We understand that this request arises as part of an effort to quiet a legal claim brought against Chevron by some 30,000 Ecuadorians who reside in Ecuador’s northeastern Amazon region. We urge you to reject Chevron’s request and reaffirm that U.S. trade agreements will not be used as leverage to interfere in private claims progressing through Ecuador’s legal process.

For nearly four years, Chevron Corporation has made similar requests of the United States Trade Representative’s Office (USTR). To its credit, USTR has rejected them. A judgment is expected sometime next year by the Ecuadorian court in a civil case in which the Ecuadorian plaintiffs allege that Texaco, subsequently acquired by Chevron dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste water into unlined pits and waterways in Ecuador’s Amazon forests while drilling for oil, resulting in severe human health and environmental problems in the region.

We do not prejudge the outcome of the case, nor do we take a position on the litigation. We do believe, however, that the tens of thousands of indigenous residents of Ecuador who have brought this case deserve their day in court. We further believe that the USTR should not interfere in an ongoing judicial matter, particularly when this case involves environmental, health and human right issues that have regional, and even global, importance.

We appreciate your consideration of our request that you continue your past policy of allowing the case against Chevron to unfold without pressure from the USTR. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Should you have any questions on this matter, please contact Celeste Drake in the office of Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez.

Sincerely,

Linda T. Sánchez (CA-39)
Lloyd Doggett (TX-25)
Danny Davis (IL-7)
John Lewis (GA-5)
Earl Blumenauer (OR-3)
Bill Delahunt (MA-10)
Sam Farr (CA-17)
Raul Grijalva (AZ-7)
Phil Hare (IL-17)
Brian Higgins (NY-27)
Steve Israel (NY-2)
Hank Johnson (GA-4)
Marcy Kaptur (OH-9)
Barbara Lee (CA-9)
Betty McCollum (MN-4)
Jim McGovern (MA-3)
Michael Michaud (ME-2)
James Moran (VA-8)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
John Olver (MA-1)
Mike Quigley (IL-5)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-9)
Pete Stark (CA-13)
Betty Sutton (OH-13)

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-chevron3-2009dec03,0,12813.story

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods has gotten a lot of media attention recently and his immaculate image is being torn apart. The car accident and marriage troubles should not be any of our business but the fact that Tiger Woods wants to be associated with Chevron, who is the title sponsor of the Tiger Woods Foundation World Challenge Golf Tournament, needs to be talked about!

Woods said in a press release in April "Chevron has a track record and a commitment to bettering the communities where they operate," Haven’t Tiger Woods Foundation done any research before going into this business relationship? How could they not hear about Chevron’s track record of exploitation, pollution and complete lack of accountability? The oil giant is currently in the middle of the biggest environmental lawsuit- Ecuador vs. Chevron. Chevron dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste into waterways in Ecuador polluting the land and drinking water. People are getting sick and dying because of Chevron’s contamination.

Why would Tiger Woods want to associate himself with a company that destroys everything around it just to get what it wants and refuses to take any responsibility for its actions!

Woods should walk away from this partnership and show the world that Tiger Woods Foundation, unlike Chevron, actually cares about the environment, sustainability and people’s lives. It won’t fix Wood’s marriage crisis but it will get people talking about Chevron’s crimes.

For more detail see: http://thechevronpit.blogspot.com