Amazon Crude
We've mentioned in previous posts Chevron's pending legal battle in Ecuador. Well, last Sunday 60 minutes did its own expose on the lawsuit and Chevron's legacy of toxic waste pits that continue to pollute communities in the Amazon.
The people who live in a remote region of Ecuador are suing Chevron, saying reckless oil exploration poisoned the most important rain forest on earth. Soon, a judge in a tiny Ecuadorian courtroom will decide whether the oil company must pay as much as $27 billion in damages. That would make it the largest environmental lawsuit in history. Most everything is in dispute in this bitter struggle except one thing: powering American cars with Amazon crude has left a toxic legacy.
Acording to 60 Minutes, over 23 years, Texaco (now owned by Chevron) pumped out one and a half billion barrels of oil from the Amazon. Hundreds of wells were drilled, and at each site, pits were dug to hold toxic oil waste that comes up during drilling. Generally two or three pits were carved out near the well site. Trouble is, when Texaco finished its drilling, the waste pits were abandoned by the hundreds and for decades. Communities have counted over 900 abandoned toxic wells in the region. One pit 60 Minutes saw has been there for 25 years and was actually designed to overflow into streams.
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green•wash
(grēn'wŏsh', -wôsh')
Used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.
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