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tagged w/ Chevron
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Bulgaria tells Chevron to frack off
Bowing to public pressure, Bulgaria's government says U.S. oil company Chevron cannot explore for shale gas in the country using the extraction technique known as "fracking."
Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said that under Tuesday's decision "Chevron can still have the right to test for oil and gas, but without using the controversial technology of hydraulic fracturing."
He says San Ramon, California-based Chevron had not yet been notified of the decision and negotiations on the contract are pending.
Over the last weeks, thousands of people gathered at protest rallies across Bulgaria to protest against shale gas extraction and the use of fracking, fearing it could have a hazardous impact on the environment and people's health.
Last June, Bulgaria granted U.S. oil company Chevron a permit to explore for shale gas in the northeastern part of the country. The potential reserves of shale gas in this area – the country's main grain producing region – are estimated at up to 1 trillion cubic meters.
More at the linkBowing to public pressure, Bulgaria's government says U.S. oil company Chevron... more-
- JanforGore
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- 24 days ago
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Chevron guilty verdict upheld by Ecuador appellate court
Yesterday, an Ecuadorian appellate court upheld a historic $18 billion award against Chevron for the company's deliberate contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The decision is the largest environmental award ever handed down and the result of an 18-year legal battle brought by some 30,000 indigenous peoples and farmers seeking a clean up of contaminated sites, clean drinking water, and health care.
Amazon Watch and Rainforest Action Network, which have spent years fighting on the side of the Ecuadorians in their effort to hold Chevron accountable for these egregious environmental crimes and human rights abuses, release the following statement in response to the verdict:
"For a second time, in a jurisdiction of its own choosing, Chevron was found guilty of widespread oil contamination in Ecuador's Amazon. It is a historic triumph for the thousands of victims who have suffered for over four decades from Chevron's drill-and-dump practices.
"Yesterday's ruling, based in large part on Chevron's own evidence, once again proves that the company is responsible for deliberately dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste sludge into local streams and rivers, which thousands depend on for drinking, bathing, and fishing, and created a public health crisis in the rainforest region.
"Chevron has spent more than a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars in a vain attempt to evade accountability and in doing so exacerbating the suffering of thousands of rainforest residents. The company says it will continue deploying its armies of lawyers with yet more legal stonewalling tactics, still hoping that its unlimited resources can outspend and outlast the course of justice. But the guilty verdict sends a loud and clear message: It is time for Chevron to clean up the Ecuadorian Amazon."
The Ecuador decision comes at a time when Chevron also faces criminal charges and fines up to U.S. $11 billion in Brazil for its negligence in its operations. If convicted, the company will be permanently banned from doing business in the South American country.
More at the linkYesterday, an Ecuadorian appellate court upheld a historic $18 billion award against... more-
- JanforGore
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- 1 month ago
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Alaska village alleges climate change cover up by Exxon and other energy companies
The battle between some of the world's most powerful energy companies and an Alaska village that's losing ground to climate change heads to federal appeals court on Monday.
Nine Kivalina residents, having survived the recent mega-storm that walloped western Alaska, will be at the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to watch their lawyers argue that ExxonMobil Corp., BP, ConocoPhillips and other corporate Goliaths owe the village at least $95 million in damages.
A key Kivalina argument charges that the energy companies are engaged in a conspiracy to cover up the link between their emissions and the earth's warming temperatures. A similar argument proved pivotal decades ago in helping smokers prevail in court against tobacco giants.
The Northwest Alaska village lost the first round of its lawsuit in 2009, when a U.S. District Court dismissed it, saying climate-change pollution needs to be regulated by Congress and the administration, not courts. The village lacked standing, the court said, because it could not show the companies' emissions caused the erosion threatening the village.
But Kivalina is optimistic this time around.
"What we have going for us is the science is changing by the day," and the causal connection between greenhouse-gas emissions and the climate is clarifying, said Heather Kendall-Miller, an attorney for Kivalina and head of the Alaska office of the Native American Rights Fund.
snip
Finding a new home
The quarter-mile-long rock revetment, installed in 2009 by the Army Corps, will buy the village an estimated 10 to 15 years before it must move.
But in 2019, what then?
.
The village is trying to find a new site where it can rebuild, out of harm's way. But when it does, how will it pay to build a school, homes and other facilities, and to scrape roads and an airstrip on the tundra?
That's where the lawsuit comes in. Moving could cost between $95 million and $400 million, according to figures from the Army Corps of Engineers and the General Accountability Office. That's at least $350,000 to $1.4 million for each village resident.
The city and tribe hope their lawsuit -- Kivalina v. ExxonMobil -- forces about 20 of the world's largest oil, power and coal companies to cough up the cash.
The village has prevailed against industry before. In 2008, with legal help from the San Francisco-based Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, Kivalina forced mining giant Teck-Cominco to settle a lawsuit and spend $120 million on a pipeline to protect drinking water.
More at the linkThe battle between some of the world's most powerful energy companies and an... more-
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Don't let Chevron get away with environmental crimes in Brazil!
"We're going to show [Chevron] that they can't come here and create
whatever environmental mess they want."
Those were the words of Carlos Minc, Rio de Janeiro state's environment secretary, in response to Chevron's oil spill off the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Judging from his statements to the press, Minc has grown increasingly frustrated with Chevron's actions following the spill.
Anyone familiar with the ongoing battle to bring Chevron to justice in Ecuador knows that the company will do everything it can to protect its profits even at the expense of the planet and human health. Brazilian officials are determined to make Chevron pay for the impacts of its reckless business operations. Send key environmental officials in Brazil a message now to let them know you've got their back.
It isn't just Chevron's response to the spill that has been criticized. Before and after the spill occurred, Chevron showed shockingly little concern about the risks involved. The company reportedly drilled deeper than it was licensed to, and had to borrow sonar equipment to even locate where the leak was occurring. Chevron was completely unprepared for an oil spill – or perhaps I should say, completely unconcerned. Production and profits are all that really matter to Chevron.
No wonder Carlos Minc has also been quoted saying: "We believe the accident could've been avoided. There was an environmental crime. [Chevron] hid information and their emergency team took almost 10 days to start acting."
Brazil's National Petroleum Agency says more than 110,000 gallons of oil have spilled into the Atlantic Ocean. Write to Carlos Minc and other key Brazilian environmental officials now and urge them to hold Chevron accountable for every last drop.
For a cleaner future,
Mitch Anderson
Corporate Campaigns Director
P.S. AlterNet recently named Chevron the #1 "Most Toxic Energy Company," a label the company richly deserves. Even while it refuses to pay to clean up its messes in Ecuador and around the world, Chevron is spending huge sums of money to influence public policy in a preemptive bid to never be held accountable for the damage it does to the planet. Share this story to help expose Chevron and other energy companies that are polluting our political process.
More at the link"We're going to show [Chevron] that they can't come here and create... more-
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Worldwide Hippies News Briefs Thursday
giants among Macy’s NYC parade balloons
Truce quiets Cairo streets, army apologizes
Brazil suspends Chevron’s drilling rightsgiants among Macy’s NYC parade balloons Truce quiets Cairo streets, army... more-
- joeeddy
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- 3 months ago
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Most Wanted corporate human rights abusers
Corporations carry out some of the most horrific human rights abuses of modern times, but it is increasingly difficult to hold them to account. Economic globalization and the rise of transnational corporate power have created a favorable climate for corporate human rights abusers, which are governed principally by the codes of supply and demand and show genuine loyalty only to their stockholders. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/recent-news/43017-some-of-the-qmost-wantedq-corporate-human-rights-violatorsCorporations carry out some of the most horrific human rights abuses of modern times,... more-
- worrg
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- 4 months ago
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Rewritten Headlines: Boehner to Hefner
Tony D rewrites the headlines to dumb down the news even further.-
- TonyDiGerolamo
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- 6 months ago
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RainForest Action Alert:Clean-Up Amazon Chevron
A message from my friends at the Rainforest action network , It would seem they need our modest help to kick Chevron's butt for polluting the Equadorean Rainforest The People of Equador are Asking for your help won't you add your name to our petition only takes a second and its the least you could do Thanks -Figgdimension
Rainforest Action Network
Climbers are hanging from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge right now, calling on Chevron to take responsibility for its oil pollution in the Ecuadorean Amazon.
The 30,000 Ecuadoreans affected by Chevron’s oil pollution in the Amazon issued a moving “Open Letter to the United States” last week, calling on Americans to stand with them in demanding justice. Today, a group of Rainforest Action Network activists heeded their call by unfurling a banner reading "Chevron Guilty-Clean Up Amazon" from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, which lies in the shadow of Chevron's Richmond refinery:
Activists with Banner on Richmond Bridge © Copyright 2011 by Eric Slomanson
You can stand with the Ecuadoreans too by signing the solidarity petition at http://www.RAN.org/StandUp.
Wednesday is Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting, and I’ll be joining a delegation of Ecuadoreans who will be in attendance in order to take their calls for justice directly to the company’s management, shareholders, and board members.
We’re trying to get 30,000 Americans to sign the solidarity petition, one for each of the Ecuadoreans affected by Chevron’s reckless pursuit of profits. The petition will be delivered to Chevron by me and the Ecuadorean delegation. Sign it now.
But hurry! There are only 48 hours left for you to sign. Chevron’s shareholder meeting is this Wednesday, May 25th. Stand with the Ecuadoreans by signing the petition now.
sources and links at site orA message from my friends at the Rainforest action network , It would seem they need... more-
- figgdimension
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- 9 months ago
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Nationwide: Van Nuys & Long Beach Airports Cited as Major Lead Polluters
Los Angeles Times...
Van Nuys, Long Beach airports cited as major lead polluters
May 10, 2011 | 2:27 pm
The Center for Environmental Health on Tuesday announced impending legal action against more than 40 suppliers of aviation fuel containing lead, often used in piston-powered aircraft engines, at California airports.
The Oakland-based group blames ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, AvFuel Corp. and 38 other suppliers for water and air pollution around 25 airports in California, including Van Nuys Airport, Long Beach/Daugherty Field and LAX.
“The oil and aviation industries need to know Californians will not tolerate lead pollution that threatens our health and healthy environments,” Michael Green, executive director of CEH, said in a statement. “We expect the industries to take immediate action to eliminate pollution that endangers children and families who live, work and play near airports across the state.”
Van Nuys, which handles a lot of civil aviation using piston-engine aircraft, had the highest levels of lead emissions among 3,413 airports nationwide, according to EPA.
Most of the lead pollution highlighted by the agency and the environmental group is airborne, although facilities at seven airports have polluted local groundwater, according to the group.
The EPA is in the process of establishing regulations governing leaded aviation fuel, or avgas, in response to a petition from Friends of the Earth. The General Aviation Avgas Coalition has been working on a "very low lead"-grade fuel that would reduce lead content by about 20% over the commonly used fuel.
Tuesday's action alleges violations of the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, and serves notice that the group plans to file a lawsuit within 60 days, a requirement under Proposition 65.
-- Geoff Mohan
Photo: Many civilian aircraft, such as these at Van Nuys Airport, rely on leaded fuel. Credit: Carlos Chave /Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times... Van Nuys, Long Beach airports cited as major lead polluters... more-
- EthicalVegan
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- 9 months ago
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Descensos y poco volumen en Wall Street
El mercado de acciones de los EE.UU. reacomoda posiciones tras tocar máximos de tres años y medio a la espera del inicio de la reunión de la Reserva Federal.El mercado de acciones de los EE.UU. reacomoda posiciones tras tocar máximos de... more-
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- 10 months ago
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Article: The Real Weapons of Mass Destruction: Methane, Propaganda
The architects of death: The Real Weapons of Mass Destruction are the melting permafrost, the destabilizing methane hydrates and the corporations such as Halliburton, ChevronTexaco, BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil who, hand in hand with the US Department of Energy and the US Department of Defense, have been planning and waiting to exploit methane hydrates for decades. Methane hydrates are considered the ultimate in climate wealth opportunity because the control of these hydrocarbons could literally shift the balance of global power (US Department of Defense). It is clear that nothing has been done to prevent catastrophic climate change – and nothing will be done. Global emissions are set to skyrocket. This investigative report attempts to clearly articulate why, almost two decades after the first international climate change summit, the world governments have failed to protect us from dangerous atmospheric interference. As we are now living in a world that is beyond dangerous, society must be aware of, be able to critically analyze, and ultimately reject the new onslaught of misinformation that is being perpetuated by the corporate elite and the current power structures that support their agenda.The architects of death: The Real Weapons of Mass Destruction are the melting... more-
- frankpatton
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- 10 months ago
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BP Seeks to Resume Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
The New York Times
April 3, 2011
BP Seeks to Resume Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
By JULIA WERDIGIER and JOHN M. BRODER
LONDON — BP has asked United States regulators for permission to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, two company officials with direct knowledge of the application said on Sunday.
The petition comes less than 12 months after a rig BP had leased there exploded, causing a huge oil spill and killing 11 workers.
BP is seeking permission to continue drilling at 10 existing deepwater production and development wells in the region in July in exchange for adhering to stricter safety and supervisory rules, said one of the officials. An agreement covering existing wells could be reached within the next month but would not include new drilling, the official said.
The other official said, “We’re making progress but it’s not a yes yet.” Both people spoke on the condition of anonymity because talks on a possible agreement were continuing.
Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico was halted last summer as a result of the accident involving BP’s Macondo well, which spilled 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. The ban was lifted in October.
Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, the federal agency that overseas the development of resources in the gulf, said on Sunday that there was no deal with BP. Toby Odone, a spokesman for BP, declined to comment.
The regulator had recently started to permit some deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Royal Dutch Shell won approval on Wednesday to drill off the coast of Louisiana on the condition that rigorous new safety standards were met. Other companies that have been allowed to continue drilling in the region include Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BHP Billiton.
Granting permission to BP would be more controversial because the British oil company is still paying for costs related to the oil spill, the cleanup and the continuing civil and criminal investigations into the accident. BP so far has set aside more than $40 billion to cover those costs.
The Obama administration has spent 11 months dealing with the aftermath of the Macondo well blowout and writing new rules to try to prevent similar accidents. But last week President Obama, in a major statement on energy policy, said the administration was seeking increased domestic oil production, both onshore and off, as a means of reducing dependence on imported oil.
Also last week, the Justice Department confirmed that it was considering a range of civil and criminal penalties against BP, including potential manslaughter charges for the deaths of the 11 rig workers, as part of its ongoing investigation into the accident.
Allowing BP to resume operations in the gulf would send a mixed message — that the administration was trying to increase the safety of offshore drilling and punish bad actors, while at the same time answering critics in Congress and the oil industry who say the administration is choking off production and driving up energy prices.
What seems clear is that the Gulf of Mexico will not return to full production until all the major players — and BP is one of the biggest — are allowed to resume drilling.
BP is eager for that to happen, and its chief executive, Robert Dudley, has repeatedly said the company remains committed to its operations in the United States. Mr. Dudley has pledged to make improving BP’s safety record his priority. He set up a new division last year to monitor safety and suspended some operations in Alaska and the North Sea after the projects failed to meet the new standards.
Gaining permission to resume drilling in the gulf would help Mr. Dudley to move BP beyond its painful and expensive recent history in the region, which has eroded shareholder trust. It would also give BP a boost of confidence.
The British oil company suffered a setback in its expansion strategy last month when a Swedish court blocked a $10 billion cooperation agreement with Rosneft of Russia, which was supposed to give the company access to the Arctic.
John M. Broder reported from Washington, D.C. Clifford Krauss also contributed reporting.The New York Times April 3, 2011 BP Seeks to Resume Drilling in the Gulf of... more-
- EthicalVegan
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Judge Halts $18 Billion Fine Against Chevron for Pollution in the Amazon
Remember that $9 billion fine that was Chevron was slapped with last month for the 18 billion gallons of pollution in Ecuador that were never cleaned up? A judge in New York has granted Chevron the preliminary injunction it requested, ruling that plaintiffs in Ecuador cannot seek damages in the U.S. or essentially anywhere outside Ecuador.
Environment New Service explains how Chevron got here:
On February 1, Chevron sued the Ecuadorian plaintiffs in U.S. District Court in New York, accusing them of fraud, interfering with contracts, trespass, unjust enrichment, and conspiracy. Chevron levied even more serious charges against their main U.S. lawyer Steven Donziger, expert witnesses and affiliated organizations, accusing them of racketeering.
Greenwire explains what happens now:
The opinion (pdf) states that Kaplan's ruling is binding on various parties involved with the plaintiffs, including Steven Donziger, the American lawyer who has led the fight against Chevron since 1993. Donziger, the plaintiffs and other lawyers are now barred from "any action or proceeding, outside the Republic of Ecuador, for recognition or enforcement of the judgment previously rendered," Kaplan wrote.
The move was not unexpected, as Kaplan had already granted a temporary restraining order that had the same effect as the injunction while he considered Chevron's request.
The plaintiffs plan to appeal, however, saying Kaplan's ruling is unclear as to whether they can try to enforce the ruling outside the U.S. in any of the countries where Chevron has assets.
Stay tuned for what happens next.Remember that $9 billion fine that was Chevron was slapped with last month for the 18... more-
- cclark_productions
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- 11 months ago
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Ecuador: A Victory for the People ~ The tide is turning against injustice in Ecuador.
By John Perkins
The Middle East, Wisconsin, and now the victory of Ecuadorians over the oil giant, Texaco (owned by Chevron)! We the people are taking back the reigns of power!
It really started in Latin America where, during the past decade, 10 countries democratically voted in presidents determined to stop the corporatocracy from ruthlessly exploiting their people and natural resources. Every one of these countries was ruled by ruthless CIA-puppet dictators for most of my life. Now that has changed. Perhaps it is fitting that among all the victories occurring today, the one against a single corporation, an oil giant that epitomizes the corporatocracy, happened in Latin America.
When I was writing Hoodwinked, the $27 billion class action environmental lawsuit filed on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadorians against Texaco was still in full swing. It alleged the company had dumped more than 16 billion gallons of toxic wastes into rainforest rivers (compared to BP’s 210 million gallons of oil in the Gulf and the Exxon Valdez’s 11 million gallons in Alaska) and that these wanton actions had destroyed fragile Amazonian environments and killed hundreds of people. The suit, at the time, was the largest environmental lawsuit in the history of the planet.
Ecuador is a classic case. In the 1970s its people were targets of predatory lending. Unscrupulous international banks promoted billions of dollars in borrowing by Ecuadorian dictators who blew most of the money on projects that made them and their cronies – as well as US construction/manufacturing consortiums – wealthy. After the transition to democracy, Ecuadorian people were stuck holding the bag. Ecuador’s debt has risen to more than $3.9 billion today. In 2007, the Ecuadorian government paid $1.75 billion in debt service, more than it spent on health care, social services, the environment and housing and urban development combined. For the corporatocracy, debt is one of its most powerful weapons.
Unfortunately, Ecuador is just one of many examples. Over the years, unelected dictators have been placed into power through the clandestine efforts of multinational corporations, international banks, the CIA and economic hit men throughout Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Citizens were not involved in making or accepting deals these leaders signed that left their countries awash in debt and their lands, air and waters poisoned by toxic wastes.
The good news is the tide is turning. The Ecuadorian judge awarded an $8.6 billion fine against Chevron (plus another $8.6 billion in punitive damages). Less than the amount sought by victims, it is nevertheless a huge victory. Like the uprisings in the Middle East and Wisconsin, it is also symbolic of our changing world, one that we the people are determined to take back.
Yet we must all participate. The corporatocracy will fight back. In Ecuador, Chevron-Texaco has already stated that they do not intend to pay and, since they have sold all assets in that country, the plaintiffs have no leverage. What that means is you and I must continue to pressure Chevron and other oil companies. We must not purchase their gas. We must battle against toxic dumping everywhere.
I urge you as well if you have not yet seen the movie “Crude” to watch it and to support the Ecuadorian battle via your social networks. Here’s the link for the movie.
We must stop the spread of predatory capitalism. We must all reject the social and environmental costs that this mutant virus spreads. The defining goal of the corporatocray – that the only responsibility of business is to make short-term profits – must be replaced by recognition that corporations have to serve the public interest.
CHECK THIS LINK I urge you today to support the fight against Chevron at this site.
I also urge you to support the battle in Wisconsin by going here.
And continue to support the people of Egypt by going here.
Remember, we can ALL change the world for the better.
GO TO STORY:
http://csrwiretalkback.tumblr.com/post/3474024805/ecuador-a-victory-for-the-peopleBy John Perkins The Middle East, Wisconsin, and now the victory of Ecuadorians over... more-
- gerardange
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- 12 months ago
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Indigenous Ecuadoran woman humbles US oil giant
Finally! Some Justice in the world!
"by Valeria Pacheco – Wed Feb 23, 9:09 am ET
RUMIPAMBA, Ecuador (AFP) –
She has no legal training, and doesn't speak the Spanish that dominates government in Quito but indigenous villager Maria Aguinda helped bring a landmark judgment against US oil giant Chevron for polluting the rain forest she calls home.
The diminutive grandmother whose modest home sits near marshes clogged for decades in sticky oil has been at the heart of the David-and-Goliath case, and spoke out after Chevron was slapped last week with a $9.5-billion fine, among the heaviest ever handed down for environmental damage.
"Before I die they have to pay me for the dead animals, and for what they did to the river, and the water and the earth," the 61-year-old Aguinda told AFP at her home in Rumipamba, a town in remote Orellana province where pollution caused by 30 years of oil drilling and petroleum accidents had become a sad fact of life.
Texaco operated in the area between 1964 and 1990, and was bought in 2001 by Chevron, which inherited Texaco's legal nightmare. . . "
More @ LinkFinally! Some Justice in the world! "by Valeria Pacheco – Wed Feb 23,... more-
- CarlosIsDown
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- 12 months ago
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Weekly Mulch: Chevron Must Pay; GOP Tries to Gut the EPA
By Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
An Ecuadorian judge ordered Chevron this week to pay $8.6 billion in damages for polluting the Amazon rainforest from 1964 until 1990. The payout is the second largest ever in an environmental case, with only the damages BP agreed to pay in the wake of last summer’s Deepwater Horizon spill being higher.
Environmental lawyers and advocates hailed the case as a landmark victory, but as Rebecca Tarbotton reports at AlterNet, Chevron is still planning to fight the case.
“In fact, the oil giant has repeatedly refused to pay for a clean up even if ordered to by the court,” she writes. “In one chilling statement, Charles A. James, Chevron’s vice president and general counsel, told law students at UC Berkeley that Chevron would fight ‘until hell freezes over, and then skate on the ice.’”
The Cost of Doing Business
Chevron can continue to fight the case because it’s cheaper for them to fund their lawyers than to cough up billions. Like so many environmental issues, this one comes down to money, which environmentally destructive corporations always seem to have and activists, regulators, and victims simply don’t.
In Washington, the newly empowered Republican Party is doing its darndest to make sure that remains the case. It’s budget season, and the Environmental Protection Agency is one of the prime targets for cutting in Republicans’ budget proposals. Kate Sheppard reports at Mother Jones that House Republicans are not only trying to take away $3 billion from the agency, but also are pushing to bar the EPA from regulating carbon or other greenhouse gasses. Putting this in context, Sheppard writes:
The National Wildlife Federation says the cuts amount to a “sneak attack” on existing environmental laws like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, because they would make it basically impossible for the EPA to do its job. The huge cut—the biggest in 30 years—”would jeopardize the water we drink and air we breathe, endangering the health and well-being of all Americans,” Gene Karpinski, the president of the League of Conservation Voters, said Monday.
The need for green
But environmentalists have their backers, too. At Grist, Bill McKibben, the author and climate activist who co-founded the climate group 350.org, has an interesting look at how the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign, led by Bruce Nilles, banded together with other environmental activists to successfully shut down proposals for coal-fired power plants across the country. One of the keys, of course, was money:
A consortium of foundations led by the Rockefeller Family Fund helped provide not only resources for the fight but crucial coordination. By the summer of 2005, RFF’s Larry Shapiro, David Wooley from The Energy Foundation, Nilles, and others formed a loosely organized “coal cadre.”
The coordination was crucial not only for the advocacy groups involved, which each have different strengths and geographical bases, but for the money men as well:
“I first went to Florida in 2005 to meet with several groups fighting coal plants,” said Shapiro. “I thought I would figure out who we could give $50,000 to. After my trip, I realized it wasn’t a $50,000 project — it was a million-dollar project. Over time, the Energy Foundation and others got into the game, so we ended up with some real money.”
In the end, McKibben reports, RFF gathered together, from its own pockets and from other foundations, $2.8 million.
Windfall
On top of the type of advocacy work that McKibben details, there’s another reason why more communities and companies are moving away from coal-fired power plants: they have a choice. Plants fueled with natural gas are a popular alternative, but as Gina Marie Cheeseman writes at Care2, in some areas, onshore wind power can compete with coal on costs.
“In some areas of the U.S., Brazil, Mexico and Sweden, the cost of wind power ($68 per megawatt hour) generated electricity is competitive with coal-fired power ($67 a megawatt hour),” Cheeseman writes. Wind power is also, she notes, competitive with natural gas, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
Close to home
These sort of adjustments make it easier for consumers to make sustainable choices. And in the end, personal choices do impact the amount of carbon humanity is spewing into the atmosphere. As two recent European studies showed, men make choices that generally produce more carbon emissions than women, Julio Godoy reported for Inter Press Service.
One study focused on France, the other on Germany, Greece, Norway, and Sweden. The second study, conducted by researchers at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, found that men ate more meat, drank more processed beverages, and drove more frequently and for longer distances. Annika Carlsson-Kanyama, one of the study’s authors, has argued that their results apply more broadly, too.
“These differences are not specific to the four countries studied, but are generalised across the European Union and have little to do with the different professional activities of men and women,” she told Godoy.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Mulch for a complete list of articles on environmental issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.By Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger An Ecuadorian judge ordered Chevron... more-
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Ecuadoreans seek to pursue Chevron in other countries as they vow to not pay damages
Armed with a $9 billion ruling against Chevron in Ecuador but little chance of collecting it there, representatives for Ecuadorean villagers said Tuesday that they were looking at waging legal battles against the company in more than a dozen countries where it operates, hoping to force Chevron to pay.
The latest salvo, coming only a day after an Ecuadorean judge ordered Chevron to pay one of the largest environmental awards ever, suggests that the legal battle between villagers and oil executives, which began in 1993, is far from over.
The case stems from oil pollution in the Ecuadorean rain forest, but Chevron does not operate there and has no significant assets in the country. It was Texaco, which Chevron acquired in a merger in 2001, that was accused of widespread environmental damage before pulling out of Ecuador in the early 1990s.
Chevron has much larger operations elsewhere in Latin America, and the plaintiffs’ strategy of pursuing the company across the region could open a contentious new phase in the case — one that would test Ecuador’s political ties with its neighbors and involve some of Washington’s most prominent lobbyists and lawyers.
Advisers to the plaintiffs said Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela would be obvious candidates to pursue Chevron assets, but they acknowledged it would not be easy. Venezuela, for instance, is a close Ecuadorean ally and its president, Hugo Chávez, is a frequent critic of the United States. But Chevron has extensive operations in Venezuela and enjoys warmer ties with Mr. Chávez’s government than just about any other American company.
The plaintiffs also face an uphill struggle collecting damages in the United States, at least immediately, given that a judge in New York this month temporarily prevented enforcement of the Ecuador awards. Still, legal advisers said they were prepared to try to collect damages in the United States as well.
A confidential memo prepared by the Washington law firm Patton Boggs recently released under court order laid out the plaintiffs’ strategy, which foresees using a European industrial espionage firm to investigate Chevron’s assets around the world.
“The fact that Chevron has agreed to ‘play ball’ in Venezuela, while the company’s peers have universally rejected the unfavorable contract terms imposed by the Chávez government, may portend difficulty there,” said the memo, code-named “Invictus.” “Nonetheless, the populist Chávez government remains a natural ally” of the plaintiffs.
In the memo, lawyers also identified the Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Angola, Canada and several other countries where Chevron has significant assets as potential targets. In the Philippines, it even suggested using the services of Frank G. Wisner, the retired diplomat and a foreign affairs adviser for Patton Boggs, who recently waded into the crisis in Egypt as an envoy for the Obama administration.
Citing the Invictus memo, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York argued that the plaintiffs were seeking to use a “worldwide, full-court press” to extract a settlement against a company of considerable importance in providing energy supplies to the United States economy.
Chevron said it did not intend to pay a dime. “We intend to resist enforcement anywhere where the plaintiffs seek to take what we perceive to be a fraudulent judgment,” said Kent Robertson, a Chevron spokesman.
Beyond the temporary protection issued by Judge Kaplan, Mr. Robertson noted a decision by a panel of international arbitrators in The Hague that granted the company a preliminary injunction that might also block enforcement of the judgment.
But Ecuadorean lawyers said they did not consider themselves under the jurisdiction of either the American court or the arbitrators.
Referring to the arbitration process, one of the lawyers, Pablo Fajardo, said, “This is part of the Chevron legal strategy to delay and obstruct.”
cont.Armed with a $9 billion ruling against Chevron in Ecuador but little chance of... more-
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Chevron's dirty fight in Ecuador
The giant oil corporation has been fined $8.6bn for an environmental disaster that has been called 'the Amazon's Chernobyl'. But guess what? It may end up paying nothingThe giant oil corporation has been fined $8.6bn for an environmental disaster that has... more-
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Chevron Hit With Record $8.6 Billion Judgment
An Ecuadorian judge on Monday ordered Chevron Corp. to pay $8.6 billion to clean up oil pollution in the country's rain forest in what is believed to be the largest-ever judgment in an environmental case.
And if the U.S. oil giant doesn't publicly apologize in the next 15 days, the judge ordered the company to pay twice that amount.
The ruling brings to an end one chapter of a legal drama that has played out in courtrooms in Ecuador and the U.S. for nearly two decades.
The case has been bitterly fought by both sides, with each accusing the other of improprieties. In recent months, Chevron uncovered a secret memo revealing the plaintiffs' strategy for enforcing any favorable Ecuadorian ruling around the world. That means that Chevron could be forced to defend itself in any of the dozens of countries where it does business.
The oil company, which denies responsibility for the pollution, has no assets in Ecuador and has vowed to fight any efforts to seize its property overseas. Other multinational corporations are closely watching the case.
The plaintiffs, residents of Ecuador's oil-rich Amazon rain forest, are seeking to hold Chevron accountable for environmental damage they say was caused by Texaco Inc., which operated in the country from 1965 to 1992. Chevron inherited the case when it acquired Texaco in 2001.
Chevron has said for more than a year that it expected to lose the case in Ecuador, where it says collusion between the government and the plaintiffs have made a fair ruling impossible. On Monday, the company vowed to appeal and said it won't pay the fine or apologize as the judge demanded.
"We believe it to be illegitimate and unenforceable," Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson said. "It's the product of fraud, and it's contrary to the legitimate scientific evidence."
The plaintiffs deny Chevron's fraud allegations and say scientific evidence backs up their claims of environmental damage.
The ruling was a rare piece of good news for the plaintiffs after months of setbacks in U.S. courts that left their team divided and scrambling for cash.
But the victory could be short-lived. Last week a panel of international arbitrators in The Hague granted Chevron a preliminary injunction that could block the plaintiffs' efforts to enforce the judgment.
Steven Donziger, a New York lawyer who led the case for years until Chevron's continued attacks caused him to step down as lead plaintiffs' attorney, declined to comment. Instead, the plaintiffs released a statement from their Ecuador-based attorney Pablo Fajardo.
"We believe today's judgment affirms what the plaintiffs have contended for the past 18 years about Chevron's intentional and unlawful contamination of Ecuador's rain forest," he said.
Under Ecuadorian law, Chevron doesn't have to pay any judgment until after an initial appeal, which could take months.
Meanwhile, Chevron is using the U.S. courts, in hopes of never paying anything at all. The company sued the plaintiffs and their lawyers in the U.S., where a federal judge recently issued a temporary stay blocking the plaintiffs' American lawyers from seeking to enforce any judgment.
Chevron has also sued the country of Ecuador under the terms of a trade agreement between it and the U.S. Last week, a panel of arbitrators in The Hague ordered Ecuador to take "all measures at its disposal" to block enforcement of any ruling, both in Ecuador and overseas, until the panel rules on the case. That could make it much more difficult for the plaintiffs to convince a foreign court to seize Chevron's assets.
Ecuador has asked a U.S. court to block Chevron's trade suit and has challenged the panel's jurisdiction.
Even if Chevron never has to pay, the ruling could worsen what has already been a public relations nightmare for the oil giant when all oil companies are under added scrutiny in the wake of last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Investors, however, shrugged off the ruling Monday. Chevron's shares rose 1.3% to $96.95 in 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The judge ruled Chevron must pay $5.4 billion to restore polluted soil and $1.4 billion to create a health system for the community, among other penalties. The court also ruled that Chevron should pay the Amazon Defense Front, a coalition formed by the plaintiffs, an additional 10% in damages, or about $860 million. That could bring the total judgment to $9.5 billion.
In the ruling, Judge Nicolas Zambrano said that Texaco had the knowledge and technical ability to avoid damages; the damages "were not only foreseeable, but also preventable."
Few legal experts expected the case to get this far. The plaintiffs first sued Texaco in New York in 1993. Texaco, and later Chevron, successfully argued that the case should instead be heard in Ecuador, which was then run by a government seen as friendly to American business interests.
In 2007, however, Ecuador elected as president Rafael Correa, who has publicly supported the plaintiffs' cause. Chevron accuses the left-leaning government of interfering in the case, a charge the government denies.
Many of Chevron's fraud allegations involve a report from a court-appointed expert, Richard Cabrera, who in 2008 estimated Chevron's liability at more than $27 billion. Chevron said the report was actually written by experts hired by the plaintiffs, who then sought to cover up their involvement. In his ruling, however, the judge said he didn't base his opinion on the evidence presented by Mr. Cabrera, because of the fraud allegations.
The plaintiffs have taken steps that may leave them better prepared for the next phase of the case. They have secured millions of dollars in new financing, some of it from a London-based hedge fund that specializes in backing class-action suits. And they have hired new lawyers, led by Washington law firm Patton Boggs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703584804576144464044068664.htmlAn Ecuadorian judge on Monday ordered Chevron Corp. to pay $8.6 billion to clean up... more-
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Court in Ecuador rules against Chevron for 8.2 billion dollars
This is a true testament to the strength of the evidence in lieu of Chevron's intimidation tactics and lies over 18 years! They of course will appeal it, but justice has been served!
May this set a precedent.
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Excerpt:
"Amazon Watch and Rainforest Action Network, who have spent years working to help the Ecuadorian people and protect the Amazon, release the following statement in response to today's verdict:
"As of today, Chevron's guilt for extensive oil contamination in the Amazon rainforest is official. It is time Chevron takes responsibility for these environmental and public health damages, which they have fought for the past 18 years.
"Today's ruling in Ecuador against Chevron proves overwhelmingly that the oil giant is responsible for billions of gallons of highly toxic waste sludge deliberately dumped into local streams and rivers, which thousands depend on for drinking, bathing, and fishing.
"Chevron has spent the last 18 years waging unprecedented public relations and lobbying campaigns to avoid cleaning up the environmental and public health catastrophe it left in the Amazon rainforest. Today's guilty verdict sends a loud and clear message: It is time Chevron clean up its disastrous mess in Ecuador.
"Today's case is historic and unprecedented. It is the first time Indigenous people have sued a multinational corporation in the country where the crime was committed and won.
"Today's historic ruling against Chevron is a testament to the strength of the Ecuadorian people who have spent 18 years bringing Chevron to justice while suffering the effects of the company's extensive oil contamination."This is a true testament to the strength of the evidence in lieu of Chevron's... more-
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