It’s elementary, dear Watson. Clean up your mess.

Indigenous Ecuadorean leader Emergildo Criollo travels from Amazon rainforest to California to deliver 325,000+ letters urging Chevron’s new CEO John Watson to clean up the oil giant’s toxic legacy. Photo by Jonathan McIntosh.

On March 2^nd, Emergildo Criollo, president of the Ecuadorian Cofan people, delivered 325,000 petitions from over 150 countries in support of his appeal to Chevron to clean up the toxic mess they had left in the Amazon over three decades ago.  He was met by Chevron’s  Public Relations Clean-Up Crew, who seemed more concerned with cleaning up Chevron’s image rather than addressing the 18 billion gallons of toxic sludge which the corporation deliberately dumped into the rainforest.

During this much anticipated visit, Emergildo attempted to personally deliver the petitions at the home of Chevron CEO, John Watson. Big surprise, Watson refused Emergildo’s visit. Instead, Emergildo was met by Chevron PR executives:  the Vice President for Policy, Government and Public Affairs; Manager for Global Issues and Policy; General Manager for Corporate Public Policy; and the Manager of External Communications. Rather than send their PR Dream Team, why didn’t Chevron send some of their decision makers who could address and take action over the 1,400 Ecuadoreans who have died because of Chevron’s negligence?

From 1964 to 1992, Texaco pumped oil in Ecuador in partnership with Petroecuador. During this time, Texaco left 17 million gallons of crude oil spills, 917 unlined crude pits, and deliberately dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic waste. Chevron bought Texaco in 2001, subsequently inheriting the lawsuit and has since avoided taking responsibility for the situation.

Emergildo told the Chevron Executives how he lost his two sons to the toxic waste since his family drank, bathed, and fished in one of the waterways that Chevron has refused to clean up. His story represented tens of thousands of similar stories from Ecuadorian locals who have suffered a wave of birth defects, illness, cancers, and death.

Chevron is feeling the pressure as they face a potential $27.3 billion pollution lawsuit in an Ecuadorean court for one of the largest environmental and public health disasters in the world. Yet, they have stayed strong and consistently state that the responsibility of the toxic mess should go to Petroecuador.

By March 4^th, Silvia Garrigo, Chevron’s Manager Global Issues and Policy, had posted a blog with the title, ““Important First Steps – Chevron and Rainforest Action Meet, Share Common Ground.” In the blog post, she wrote:

We can all agree that his personal story is moving and heartfelt.  And we can all agree that there are unacceptable environmental conditions in Ecuador’s Amazon.  While there may be many areas where we do not agree, it is important for us to listen to each other.  We believe RAN and Chevron can share common ground on some important points.  Thank you again for meeting with us.  We look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue.

This carefully executed message demonstrates Chevron’s refusal to take responsibility of the environmental devastation in Ecuador and their continued procrastination to take action on the issue. Constructive dialogue with Chevron has dragged the lawsuit on for over 16 years. The “common ground” RAN and Chevron share are universally acknowledged and undisputed. No one is arguing against the atrocity of Ecuador’s Amazon. The people in Ecuador not only deserve but demand action from Chevron. As public attention and outrage increase, Chevron’s publicity stunts and court appeals will no longer protect the company from the responsibility to the disaster created in Ecuador.

John Watson, we’re waiting for your next move.