Dear friends,
Thousands of people living in the Ecuadorian rainforest are waging a tenacious legal battle to reverse the environmental destruction, death and suffering caused by oil giant Chevron during decades of indiscriminate contamination of their homelands.
The final judgement in this citizens’ lawsuit is expected soon, and Chevron could be forced to pay up to $27 billion in damages — a big step forward in bringing world’s polluters to account. But in a desperate attempt to evade responsibility, the oil giant has mounted an aggressive last-ditch lobbying campaign to derail the lawsuit and deceive the public.
Chevron´s newly-appointed Chairman and CEO, John Watson, knows his corporation’s brand and reputation are under fire — let’s turn up the heat and help set a historic precedent that will send shock-waves through corporate boardrooms worldwide! Sign the petition calling on Watson and Chevron to pay to clean up their mess in Ecuador, and our allies will deliver it direct to their headquarters – click below to take action now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/chevron_toxic_legacy/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
Over the years, civic action like this has helped to transform the policies of some of the world’s biggest corporations. But most oil and gas multinationals spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on lobbying and PR to reshape climate and energy policies and deny their environmental and human rights duties — and Chevron is one of the biggest offenders.
From 1964 to 1990, Chevron-owned Texaco deliberately dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste from their oil fields in Ecuador’s Amazon — then pulled out without properly cleaning up the pollution they caused. Facing imminent defeat in the courts, Chevron has turned to legal machinations, powerful public relations firms and lobbyists to intimidate its critics into silence and avoid responsibility for the massive environmental and human disaster it has triggered.
Chevron has repeatedly vowed to refuse to pay for a clean up even if ordered to by the court, saying “We will fight this until hell freezes over. And then we’ll fight it out on the ice.” Its latest strategy: pushing the US government to bully Ecuador into burying the case.
We cannot sit back and watch Chevron make a mockery of justice like this — let´s build a critical mass of support and help the rainforest inhabitants win this round, in the court of public opinion and before the law. Click here to sign the petition and help deliver a deafening message personally to Chevron´s new chief executive John Watson:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/chevron_toxic_legacy/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
Citizens in Ecuador and around the world are joining efforts to stand up to one of the biggest and dirtiest corporations in the world. If we win, it’ll be another big step toward a future of corporate accountability, human rights and environmental protection. Let’s add our voices and spread the word today!
With hope and determination,
Luis, Paula, Benjamin, Pascal, Paul, Alice, Ricken, Graziela and the whole Avaaz team
PS – This campaign is part of a larger effort by Amazon Watch, Rainforest Action Network and other environmental and human rights allies worldwide.
SOURCES:
ChevronToxico, The Campaign for Justice in Ecuador, includes new video of affected Ecuadorians urging Chevron´s CEO to clean up oil pollution: http://chevrontoxico.com/
Wall Street Journal, “Chevron Plaintiffs Ask U.S. Court for Action”:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704363504575003153443151606.html
Politico, “Chevron’s lobbying campaign backfires”:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29560.html
The Huffington Post, “Chevron and cultural genocide in Ecuador”,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-kennedy/chevron-and-cultural-geno_b_346257.html
Los Angeles Times, “Oil, Ecuador and its people”:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/28/opinion/ed-chevron28
“CRUDE. The Real Price of Oil””, Joe Berlinger´s award-winning documentary film that chronicles the epic battle to hold oil giant Chevron accountable for its systematic contamination of the Ecuadorian – official website:
http://www.crudethemovie.com/
