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Oil and Justice in the Amazon

In a town called Lago Agrio, “sour lake,” deep in the oil-rich rain forest of Ecuador, what could be the biggest environmental lawsuit in history is being fought.

It’s a battle pitting 30,000 indigenous Ecuadorians, and a team of American trial lawyers, against the U.S. oil giant Chevron. The plaintiffs claim Chevron is responsible for the damage caused by 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste, and an Ecuadorian court-appointed expert recommends the company pay up to $16 billion.

Chevron says the case is fundamentally flawed. Activists call it a global game-changer.

This hour, On Point: Oil and justice in the Amazon.

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Jane Clayson, guest host

Guests:

Isabel Ordonez, a reporter for Dow Jones Newswires, she covers Chevron, Exxon, and Conoco Philips, for Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. “Chevron Struggles With Toxic Claim In Ecuador,” the first installment in her three-part series for Dow Jones on the Chevron-Ecuador case, is out today.

Steven Donziger, an attorney based in New York and an advisor to the legal team representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit “Aguinda vs. Texaco-Chevron.”

Silvia Garrigo, former senior counsel for Chevron and now manager of Global Issues and Policy for the company. She has worked on the Ecuador case from the outset.

Kelly Hearn, staff reporter for The Washington Times and former correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor. His reporting on Amazonian oil issues was sponsored by The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and his articles on the subject have appeared in The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, National Geographic News and The Virginia Quarterly Review. He has covered the Chevron case since 2005.

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VANITY FAIR
Jungle Law: Politics & Power

"One of the problems with modern society is that it places more importance on things that have a price than on things that have a value. Breathing clean air, for instance, or having clean water in the rivers, or having legal rights—these are things that don't have a price but have a huge value. Oil does have a price, but its value is much less. And sometimes we make the mistake."

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NEW YORK TIMES
   Rainforest Jekyll & Hyde

"The systematic way that they disposed of toxic waste in Ecuador was to dump it into open-air pits that they dug out of the jungle soil, or directly into rivers, streams and swamps in one of the most delicate ecosystems on the planet"

Myths QA 20SEP06.pdf (55.70 KB)
 
Does Chevron respect the law and human rights in Ecuador? You decide.  On its website Chevron pledges to “conduct business in a socially responsible and ethical manner” and “to respect the communities” where it operates.  But Chevron’s defense in the historic environmental trial in Ecuador’s rainforest (“Lago trial”) – where damages could be in the billions of dollars – can hardly be considered “ethical” or respectful of human rights.

Purveyors of Chevron's Fraud

Rodrigo PEREZ PALLARES

"Children all over the world get cancer"

Rodrigo PEREZ PALLARES

CHEVRON ATTORNEY WHO SIGNED FRAUDULENT CLEAN-UP AGREEMENT ON THE OIL GIANT´S BEHALF THEREBY SELLING OUT THE HEALTH OF HIS OWN PEOPLE. SAYS THAT: "CHILDREN ALL OVER THE WORLD GET CANCER."