Dear Richard,
Standing eye to eye with Chevron CEO John Watson, Servio Curipoma fought back tears and bravely declared, "My mother died from your cancer. You killed my mother." [1]
Servio, a cacao farmer from the small oil-ravaged town of San Carlos, Ecuador, traveled thousands of miles to face down the CEO of one of the world's most powerful companies. His goal: Hold Chevron accountable for polluting his once-pristine homeland with toxic
oil waste and killing his parents and his sister. [2]
For three decades, Texaco, now part of Chevron, dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste into the beautiful Ecuadorian Amazon. [3] Servio's family and thousands like it were left suffering a plague of deadly cancers and devastating birth defects. [4]
Now, despite losing a 20-year legal battle, Chevron continues to deny responsibility for the world's largest oil disaster. [5,6]
The U.S. Senate has the power to investigate and help stop Chevron's outrageous attacks on those who stand up to corporate greed. But it is up to us to make sure they use that power.
Tell the U.S. Senate's top corporate watchdogs to investigate Chevron's attacks against the very people it poisoned. Let's flood their inboxes with 50,000 comments before Wednesday's big press conference!
In an unprecedented move, the oil giant is using a U.S. law intended to rein in mobsters to sue Servio's neighbors and fellow activists and supporters -- branding them as criminals just for speaking out. [7]
The Sierra Club and thirty other organizations have joined forces to call out Chevron for their dirty tactics -- but we need to keep the drumbeat going. [8] These 10 powerful senators have a proven
track record of taking on big corporations and winning. [9] If they stand with us, then Chevron's evil tactics can be stopped.
In 1994, when Texaco was done pillaging Ecuador, it left behind a toxic wasteland. More than 900 open and unlined waste pits dot the landscape, overflowing toxic chemicals into the waterways that Servio's family and their neighbors rely on
for cooking and bathing. [10] But Chevron calls the people of Ecuador criminals?
Send your message and let's show Chevron it can't put profits over people!
Servio isn't alone. Emergildo Criollo lost his two sons and nursed a wife through uterine cancer. His family drank, bathed, and fished in water he now knows was poisoned with oil. [11] "I lost two children to Texaco's pollution and the company now calls me a criminal for daring to demand justice." [12]
Despite Chevron's attacks, the brave people of Ecuador and their supporters aren't giving up the fight -- but they can't do it alone. Will you stand with them?
In it together,
Ashley Allison
SierraRise Senior Campaigner
P.S. Five signatures are even more powerful than one -- after you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends, family, and colleagues!
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1. Bennett, Caroline (2013 October 30). "Servio Curipoma: Holding Chevron Accountable." Amazon Watch: Eye on the Amazon.
2. Anderson, Mitch (2011 May 18). "Servio Curipoma Arrives in New York to Tell His Story." Amazon Watch: Eye on the Amazon.
3. CNN Wire Staff (2012 January 4). "Ecuador court upholds $8.6 billion ruling against Chevron." CNN.
4. Business Wire staff (2010 October 14). "Amazon Defense Coalition: Chevron's Ecuador Cancer Problem: 10,000 People at Risk of Contracting Disease in Coming Decades, Says Expert." Business Wire.
5. Anderson, Mitch (2011 February 16). "Chevron Found Guilty In Amazon Pollution Case." SFGate.
6. Zelman, Joanna (2011 January 24). "Chevron Accused Of 'World's Worst Oil-Related Disaster' In Ecuador: Alleged Evidence Submitted In Lawsuit." Huffington Post.
7. Baker, David R. (2011 February 2). "Chevron files RICO suit in Ecuador case." SFGate.
8. Amazon Watch et. al. (2013 December 18). "Institutions, Organizations and Individuals Advocating for Corporate Accountability Condemn Chevron's Retaliatory Attacks on Human Rights
and Corporate Accountability Advocates and See it as a Serious Threat to
Open Society and Due Process of Law." Amazon Watch.
9. The Corporate Accountability Coalition Staff. "2012 Congressional Report Card." The Corporate Accountability Coalition.
10. Anderson, Mitch (2011 February 16). "Chevron Found Guilty In Amazon Pollution Case." SFGate.
11. Shan, Han. (2010 March 3). "Ecuadorean Indigenous Leader Asks CA Lawmakers for Support in Campaign to Demand Chevron Clean Up its Pollution in Amazon." ChevronToxico.
12. Paz y Miño, Paul (2013 October 14). "Chevron Retaliation Trial Opens Against Victims of Pollution in Ecuador." Common Dreams.
Photo: Caroline Bennett, Amazon Watch
