Chevron says the people in these photographs don't matter.
They are, according to the oil giant, literally "irrelevant" players in a 19-year-old legal battle against Chevron for one of the world's largest oil-related environmental disasters.
Hundreds of people have died from cancer caused by contamination left by Chevron in the Ecuadoran rainforest, where it drilled under the Texaco brand from 1964 to 1992. Thousands, more suffer from respiratory illnesses, deformities, skin disease, spontaneous abortions and other ailments.
The Ecuadorans in these photographs and approximately 30,000 other rainforest residents recently won an $18 billion damage award from Ecuador's courts against Chevron. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the company refuses to pay. If it did, the money would fund a cleanup of the contamination and provide clean drinking water and health care services for people living in Chevron's former concession area.
In a desperate effort to avoid paying the $18 billion judgment, Chevron lawyer Doak Bishop of King & Spalding recently said: "The plaintiffs are really irrelevant. They always were irrelevant. There were never any real parties in interest in this case... There will be no prejudice to [the rainforest communities] or any individual by holding up enforcement of the judgment."
Anyone who has seen the devastation in the rainforest and spent time with the people there, like I did when I took these photographs, would never make such a statement. (See more photos at: www.loudematteis.com).
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I first traveled to the Ecuadoran Amazon in 1993 and witnessed first hand the contamination and environmental damage. During my trip, I spoke to a doctor at Ecuador's Ministry of Health who said the region was sitting on a time bomb. He told me that if the toxic waste was not cleaned up, the result would be an epidemic of serious and fatal health conditions.
Sure enough, when I returned to the region in 2003 for the start of the trial against Chevron, I found that the time bomb had exploded. Everywhere I turned, I encountered people with cancer, birth defects, respiratory ailments and other severe heath problems.
Enough is enough. Chevron should stop delaying the justice that the people in these photographs and so many others like them in the Ecuadoran rainforest deserve. (For more information, see the video at www.chevrontoxico.com).
What I don't get is this. Even if the Ecuadorian Government allowed Chevron to dump toxic chemicals into the forest, into peoples drinking water, chemicals that are known the wreak havoc on the human immune system. Why would they? Wouldn't a thinking rational human being, that cared for human life, not do this kind of thing? That in itself is evil.
In my view, the Ecuadorians were irrelevant to begin with.
nomoresaints: What I don't get is this. Even if the Ecuadorian
Chevron will soon be irrelevant and so will BP, and the list goes on for Big Oil, just like tobacco, they are being caught in their lies. Politicians, be it in Ecuador or USA, run were the money flows and it will stop flowing from Big Oil as climate change becomes more evident. The only problem is we have very little time to solve this crisis.
Hikerguy22: Chevron will soon be irrelevant and so will BP, and
If the story were as simple as "Chevron is an evil corporation", we would not be reading about one lawyer's arguably insensitive comments. The plaintiffs would have already enforced their judgment against Chevron in the United States (the US has the most permissive approach to enforcing foreign judgments of any country in the world). So why are we still reading about this?
The case is dragging on because the plaintiffs would not dare try enforcing the judgment in a US court because there is extensive evidence that the plaintiffs used fraud to swing the Ecuadorian trial against Chevron- they even wrote the judge's judgment for him!
My guess is that most HuffPo readers worry about the inequities of capitalism and have unfavorable presumptions about corporations and favorable presumptions about marginalized indigenous groups. Fair enough. But if that is your starting point, surely you are not so naive as to think that the answer lies in turning corporate hearts- the answer lies in effective litigation to shape corporate incentives!
Therefore, if the plaintiffs' allegations are true, then the real outrage is the plaintiffs reduced corporate accountability by tainting their own case with a sloppy fraud. And if the plaintiffs' allegations are unfounded, the outrage is that a failed attempt to shakedown a corporation through fraud operated to knock a bit of money out of countless average joes' 401Ks and into the pockets of high-flying lawyers.
ecuadorskeptic: If the story were as simple as "Chevron is an
first off, this crime is NOT enforceable in the US, any one should be aware of that if they were aware of the so called fraud the the Natives presented.
you are doing nothing more than fanatics on the right here do all the time. using inuendo and out right lies to cover the tracks of the criminals, which in this case is Chevron, but you used the same exact arguments about BP as well.
nomadrdw: first off, this crime is NOT enforceable in the US,
i don't understand how these people won their settlement but the company doesn't have to pay them? where they do that at? usually when a judge says you have to pay, you have to pay......
FullFrontal: i don't understand how these people won their settlement but
AM I MISSING SOMETHING SOME WHERE....I HAVE READ THE ARTICLE THREE TIMES AND I CANNOT SEE WHERE CHEVERON IS SAYING "THESE PEOPLE DON'T MATTER"....COULD THIS BE ANOTHER MEDIA CREATING NEWS STORY....STIRING UP STUFF WITH FALSE REPORTING....
PARKPILOT: AM I MISSING SOMETHING SOME WHERE....I HAVE READ THE ARTICLE
"In a desperate effort to avoid paying the $18 billion judgment, Chevron lawyer Doak Bishop of King & Spalding recently said: "The plaintiffs are really irrelevant. They always were irrelevant. There were never any real parties in interest in this case... There will be no prejudice to [the rainforest communities] or any individual by holding up enforcement of the judgment."
threnodymarch: It's right there in the middle of the article. "In
Welcome to the jungle it gets worse here every day
Ya learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play
If you hunger for what you see you'll take it eventually
You can have everything you want but you better not take it from me
Chipher: Welcome to the jungle it gets worse here every day
Chevron of the lovely, surreal- impressionist advertizing blitz to convince the US public of their environmentalist credentials.
18 billion dollar judgment that they suggest they above the law and will not pay? They have pumped millions into attempts to fight back the Ecuador democracy.
Ecuador, take back their oil holdings and take care of yours country!
Fireslayer: Chevron of the lovely, surreal- impressionist advertizing blitz to convince
It does not matter what you say to driller..I have had long running arguements here on the forum with him...As an indusrty advocate his only concern is for the industry...the people affected are irrelevant
Kommonman: It does not matter what you say to driller..I have
Then you too are irrelevant.
In my view, the Ecuadorians were irrelevant to begin with.
The case is dragging on because the plaintiffs would not dare try enforcing the judgment in a US court because there is extensive evidence that the plaintiffs used fraud to swing the Ecuadorian trial against Chevron- they even wrote the judge's judgment for him!
My guess is that most HuffPo readers worry about the inequities of capitalism and have unfavorable presumptions about corporations and favorable presumptions about marginalized indigenous groups. Fair enough. But if that is your starting point, surely you are not so naive as to think that the answer lies in turning corporate hearts- the answer lies in effective litigation to shape corporate incentives!
Therefore, if the plaintiffs' allegations are true, then the real outrage is the plaintiffs reduced corporate accountability by tainting their own case with a sloppy fraud. And if the plaintiffs' allegations are unfounded, the outrage is that a failed attempt to shakedown a corporation through fraud operated to knock a bit of money out of countless average joes' 401Ks and into the pockets of high-flying lawyers.
you are doing nothing more than fanatics on the right here do all the time. using inuendo and out right lies to cover the tracks of the criminals, which in this case is Chevron, but you used the same exact arguments about BP as well.
"In a desperate effort to avoid paying the $18 billion judgment, Chevron lawyer Doak Bishop of King & Spalding recently said: "The plaintiffs are really irrelevant. They always were irrelevant. There were never any real parties in interest in this case... There will be no prejudice to [the rainforest communities] or any individual by holding up enforcement of the judgment."
Ya learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play
If you hunger for what you see you'll take it eventually
You can have everything you want but you better not take it from me
All of Scandinavia or Exxon?
Need I go on?
18 billion dollar judgment that they suggest they above the law and will not pay? They have pumped millions into attempts to fight back the Ecuador democracy.
Ecuador, take back their oil holdings and take care of yours country!