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Chevron Lobbies White House to Pressure Ecuador to Stop $16 Billion Amazon Pollution Lawsuit

Chevron is being accused of promoting geopolitical blackmail in its efforts to stave off a lawsuit accusing it of contaminating the Ecuadorian rain forest. Nearly 30,000 Amazon residents are seeking $12 billion from Chevron for dumping billions of gallons of toxic oil waste. According to Newsweek, the oil giant is urging the Bush administration to yank special trade preferences for Ecuador if the country’s government doesn’t force the Amazon residents to drop the case. If the White House agrees, it would be the second major lobbying victory for Chevron in just a matter of weeks. Last month, the Senate dropped an effort to penalize Chevron for maintaining extensive ties to the military junta in Burma.

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Host:

Amy Goodman

Guests:

Michael Isikoff, investigative correspondent for Newsweek. He wrote about Chevron’s lobbying efforts against the Ecuador lawsuit in last week’s issue of Newsweek. The article is called “A Sixteen Billion Dollar Problem.”

Atossa Soltani, Executive Director of Amazon Watch.

Marco Simons, Legal Director of Earth Rights International.

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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."