Chevron is throwing a hissy fit over the Goldman Environmental Prize awarded to two Ecuadorian activists who want the oil company to clean up pollution in the Amazon rain forest. Texaco, which was acquired by Chevron in 2001, dumped 18.5 billion gallons of petrochemical waste in the Amazon between 1972 and 1992. Lawyer Pablo Fajardo and community organizer Luis Yanza won the Goldman Prize for spearheading a lawsuit against Chevron, saying it should be responsible for cleanup. But Chevron claims that a $40 million cleanup by Texaco in 1992 was sufficient. Chevron says through spokesfolks that the Goldman Foundation was “misled,” that Fajardo and Yanza are “nothing but con men,” and that “the only thing green they are interested in is money.” The Goldman Foundation says its awards are thoroughly researched and fact-checked, and it continues to commend Yanza and Fajardo for taking on Big Oil.
