FOR LINKS TO PHOTOS, PSA AND DARYL HANNAH’S BRAVO TV INTERVIEW SEE BELOW
New York, New York – The plight of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest was in the spotlight during the Live Earth series of concerts this weekend as celebrities including Sting, The Police, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen, and Trudie Styler supported on air the landmark environmental lawsuit against Chevron and the international campaign to save Yasuni National Park, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, from the oil industry:
• Amazon Watch ran several Public Service Announcements, narrated by Martin Sheen, about saving the rainforest during the live global feed of the concerts. The PSA included footage of human banners shot from the air forming “Justice” and “SOS”, images of toxic oil pits left by Texaco (now Chevron) as well as of Yasuni rainforest.
• Trudie Styler, a movie producer and actress married to Sting, told a live, primetime NBC audience during the concert that Chevron had committed various human rights “atrocities” in Ecuador and called on the company to accept responsibility. NBC ran a tape of Styler visiting Ecuador during the interview, which was conducted by Ann Curry, a host of the Today Show.
• After the NBC interview, Sting and Styler introduced Fajardo and another leader of the historic lawsuit, Luis Yanza, at the Live Earth press center in New York. Several media outlets, including the Associated Press, wrote stories about Fajardo’s struggle to hold the oil giant accountable for what is believed to be the worst oil-related disaster on the planet.
• Actress Daryl Hannah also gave an interview to Bravo TV during the Live Earth coverage, talking about her recent trip to the affected communities in Ecuador and about the separate campaign to save Ecuador’s Yasuni from the ravages of oil drilling.
• Also on Bravo TV, Fajardo and Styler strongly criticized Chevron for its Ecuador problems and called on the world community to pay attention to the case. Chevron’s lawyers recently have been accused of trying to delay the trial with a series of illegal actions.
• On Sunday, the day after the concert, Styler published a long article in London’s Daily Mail newspaper, with a circulation of 3.5 million, about a recent trip to Ecuador where she met cancer victims who live in the 1,700-square mile area where Texaco operated.
• Also on Sunday, Fajardo and two other members of the legal team against Chevron (formerly Texaco) met with members of The Police, who were the final act in the New York show and who are currently on a world tour.
The Yasuni campaign appears to be gathering momentum. In a bid to avoid drilling in the park, Ecuador President Rafael Correa has proposed that the oil could be left in the ground in exchange for financial commitments from the international community ranging from $2 billion to $3.5 billion to offset the lost oil revenues. The government plans to invest the funds in sustainable social development programs.
Quito and international environmental groups are now working to meet this challenge, exploring a variety of financial mechanisms including debt relief, carbon credits, and traditional fundraising.
Meanwhile, Chevron is accused by thousands of rainforest dwellers of dumping more than 18 billion gallons of toxic waste over a 25-year period when it exclusively operated more than 350 well sites in Ecuador’s rainforest. They are demanding an environmental remediation provisionally priced at $6 billion.
The long-running trial just entered its final phase, with a decision expected in 2008 that experts believe could result in the highest judgment against an oil company ever. The case and its young lead attorney, Ecuadorian Pablo Fajardo, were featured in the May issue of Vanity Fair . “Chevron has survived for years by hiding this human rights atrocity in Ecuador,” said Fajardo. “Little by little, Chevron’s lies and deceit are being exposed.”
Deforestation causes between 20 percent and 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Stopping it will be a key element of any plan to tackle global warming. Equally, the Amazon plays a critical role in regulating global climate, sending rain-clouds to water farmers’ fields from Argentina to Iowa and helping power trans-oceanic air currents on which millions of people’s livelihoods depend.
