And how you can share it with the world ...

There’s a three-letter word on everyone’s lips these days, and it's crude and sticky.

Yeah, we’re talking about oil.  

It’s killing our karma, sabotaging our bank accounts and destroying our planet. But one of its biggest secrets lie hidden deep within the Amazon jungle, where the big oil boys hope to keep it.

A catastrophe that many suggest dwarfs the spill in the Gulf, more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater and crude oil have been dumped into an area in the Ecuadorian Amazon that was home to six indigenous tribes—one of which is now extinct. The nearly 30-year operation launched the most monumental environmental court case in history, laced with conspiracies, lies, murder, and even a global cover-up, all led by oil giant Texaco, now Chevron.

Sadly, most people—minus a few journalists and film crews whom are willing to risk malaria and death threats—have any idea it exists.

With the help of British anthropologist and indigenous rights activist, Zoe Tryon, and the nonprofit Amazon Watch, I flew down to Ecuador to personally witness the damage, and meet with the affected tribes and the lead attorney fighting to save his homeland and its people from the spread of contamination.

What I experienced was heartbreaking and infuriating, but now we can spread Chevron’s secret across the world so that nothing like it can ever happen again.

The Dumping

Texaco started drilling in Ecuador in the 1960s and got lucky with its very first well. Bingo. It was pure black gold. When they finally left after 28 years, their exit strategy included a grand gift of more than 900 open-air toxic waste pits filled with crude oil and vast amounts of drilling waste—many the size of Olympic swimming pools.

By handling its toxic waste in Ecuador in ways that were illegal in the U.S., Texaco/Chevron saved an estimated $3 per barrel.

The Cancer

The cancer rate around the dumping sites is estimated at seven times higher than the rate in the rest of Ecuador, and adequate medical care is rarely available. A health evaluation published in the academic journal, International Journal of Occupation and Environmental Health, found rates of cancer in the area Chevron operated 130 percent above Ecuador’s norm. Other peer-reviewed scientific studies have found elevated rates of oil-related health problems such as spontaneous miscarriages and genetic defects. I saw children swimming through sheets of crude oil, as they had no other place to bathe. Wildlife has died out, the rainforest has been poisoned, and farming is contaminated and dangerous.

The Verdict- Guilty

Local attorney, Pablo Fajardo, and 30,000 outraged Ecuadorian Amazon victims decided to come together to file a landmark class-action lawsuit against Chevron. They had nothing to lose and were not even asking for cash. They just wanted the mess in their backyards to be cleaned up.

It was Pablo’s first case and it took place inside a tiny courtroom inside a ramshackle Ecuadorian shopping center. To this day, Pablo receives death threats along with anonymous phone calls and harassment. His brother was also mysteriously murdered before one of the biggest parts of the trial.

On February 14, after 18 years of legal battle, the indigenous people of the Ecuadorian community finally found some justice: Chevron was found guilty by Ecuadorian courts and ordered to pay $9 billion to fund contamination clean-up, clean water infrastructure, and health care for the affected communities.

It has become the largest judgment ever made against a U.S. company for environmental pollution. Chevron was also ordered to publicly apologize within 15 days, or the amount would be doubled.

But, of course, Chevron has appealed the case. Their stance? The verdict is,  “illegitimate and unenforceable.” Please. The real slap in the face came in mid-March, when the 2nd U.S. Circuit of Appeals in New York upheld a March 2010 decision in favor of Chevron, ruling that an international arbitration panel may decide whether the oil giant is getting “due process” in Ecuador. Again, please.

It's all a pretty bold move considering their mess has left behind dying children, hundreds of animal poisonings and deaths, and thousands of acres of deforested land—all in the name of profit.

What You Can Do

Visit the Chevron Toxico Web site created by Amazon Watch to send Chevron a message, change your Facebook profile picture to the Chevron is Guilty image, or tell a friend about the case.

Lastly, make sure to sign up for updates directly from Amazon Watch regarding the case, by clicking here.

Don’t let Chevron get away with their crimes. Spread the word.


Beth Doane, Guest Blogger
Beth is a fashion designer, author and environmentalist who went from launching high-end European fashion lines to creating her own philanthropic fashion collection, Rain Tees. Her line of tees funds school supplies for children in Central and South America and plants a tree in a tropical rainforest for every item sold. Beth’s consulting agency, Andira International, helps brands build sustainable ideas into products, events and campaigns. Visit raintees.com for more information.