Over three decades of oil drilling in the Ecuadorean Amazon,
Chevron dumped more that 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater
into the rainforest, leaving local people suffering a wave of cancers,
miscarriages, and birth defects. Now with the support of an international
campaign for justice, the communities affected by Chevron’s
negligence are holding one of the world’s largest oil companies
to account.
Here are some of my photos from 2 trips to ride on the Toxitour
bus with friends and the staff of Amazon Watch. Some of the
photos got enhanced by this artist to more accurately convey the
forces swirling around the struggle for the rights of ecosystems
and the collective rights of Ecuador’s Indigenous peoples versus
those who would exploit them.
To keep costs to a bare minimum, Chevron/Texaco admits that it systematically dumped into the Amazon waterways, 18 billion gallons of toxic waste in an area which is home to 6 indigenous peoples groups.
