The Rainforest Action Network is launching a new campaign called Change Chevron. Chevron has a brand new CEO, John Watson, and RAN is urging him to stop the destruction in Ecuador and turn the company around.
Chevron is responsible for an amazing amount of environmental damage throughout history.
While drilling in the Ecuador Amazon Rainforest for oil, the company dumped 18.5 billion gallons of highly toxic waste sludge into the streams and rivers on which local people depend on for drinking, bathing, and fishing.
The sludge contained some of the most dangerous chemicals known – including benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – lethal concentrations.
A toxic waste pit left by Texaco (now Chevron) near Dureno, Ecuador in 1993. - Photo by Lou Dematteis
Chevron can remain stuck in the sludge with the practices of the past … or it can seize the chance to transform itself into a modern, globally respected business. Chevron has a window of opportunity – with a new CEO – to start leading the world toward the limitless future of clean, renewable energy.
But the window won’t stay open long. The world wants to see action. It is inconceivable that one of the world’s most profitable companies can’t afford to treat the people living where it operates with decency. It is inconceivable that Chevron can’t stop making people ill, despoiling their traditional territory, and destroying their livelihoods.
To get more informed about the Rainforest Action Network’s new campaign visit their site.
And don’t forget to sign the petition that will go to Chevron CEO John Watson. When you sign the petition, make sure to tell John that you are going to tell everyone you know to do the same, until he addresses these problems in Ecuador.
