‘Avatar’ is Real in the Amazon

The story of Chevron in Ecuador is no less dramatic, tragic, or inspiring than the fantasy world of Pandora.

Photo courtesy of AP/20th Century Fox

Ecuadorians Want Chevron Held to Account

Ecuadorian communities are trying to stop Chevron from ducking responsibility for a $27 billion, 17-year environmental lawsuit. The latest installment in the epic legal war involves Chevron's petition for international arbitration under a bilateral investment treaty. Plaintiffs, representing 30,000 residents of the Amazon region, call it Chevron's latest attempt to "short-circuit" litigation.

Photo courtesy of gdiazdeleon/Flickr

Ecuador sues Chevron to stop arbitration

The Republic of Ecuador has sued the Chevron Corp. as the two battle over liability for pollution in the Amazon rainforest.

[Photograph by: gdiazdeleon]

Q&A with filmmaker Joe Berlinger

Joe Berlinger's new documentary, "Crude," is set deep in the Amazon jungle and tells the David-and-Goliath story of one of the world's biggest environmental lawsuits. The 30,000 Ecuadorean plaintiffs claim that Texaco (now part of Chevron) contaminated a Rhode Island-sized zone of the rainforest while drilling for oil, creating a surge of cancer and other health problems among the indigenous people.

[Photograph by: theskepticaloptimist]

The ‘Crude' truth

A group of 30,000 Ecuadoreans is suing Texaco, now part of Chevron, alleging that the oil giant spent three decades systematically poisoning part of the Amazon jungle while drilling for oil, creating a surge of cancer and other health problems among the local population.

[Photograph by: Crude The Movie]