My Talk With Chevron On Earth Day!

By Steven Foley

An interview with Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson


Today environmentalists and human rights activists celebrated Earth Day by holding a protest rally and march outside the Chevron Corporations offices in San Francisco.
according to this article Earth Day March/Rally Exposing Chevron- Earth Enemy #1:

Communities and activists call for Chevron to halt Inhumane Energy

WHAT: In downtown San Francisco, environmental justice and human rights activists are marking Earth Day by holding a march and rally targeting Chevron, a notorious polluter in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the world. The Earth Day action will highlight Chevron's unabated assault on the Earth and the health of communities and the environment near Chevron facilities around the world. The action is in response to Chevron's terrible environmental and human rights record and their false and desperate attack on Ecuadorian activists who were just awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize.

A trusted and reliable TMR source, who will remain nameless, emailed me the tip this morning saying the following:

"You might’ve heard Amazon Watch and other enviro groups are leading an "Earth Day" protest at the Chevron offices in downtown San Francisco today, casting Chevron as “Earth Enemy #1.” Of course they’ll exalt Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza, the two Ecuadorian trial lawyers and Goldman prize winners seeking $16 billion from Chevron for alleged environmental damages.

....... the environmentalist community is being shammed – and that these self-proclaimed environmentalists are not friends of the environment, but instead seeking enrichment by extortion. If Mr. Fajardo and Mr. Yanza were honest environmental stewards, they’d recognize that Petroecuador, the state-owned oil company drilling in Ecuador for the past 16 years, is “Earth Enemy #1.” Petroecuador admits in its own records to being responsible for more than a 1,000 spills from 2002 through 2007.

Already denied by numerous court proceedings, Chevron vice president and general counsel Charles James recently highlighted Mr. Fajardo and Mr. Yanza’s bogus legal claims in an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle. The Wall Street Journal editorialized over the weekend wondering “…whose interests are served by a case that deflects attention from the real source of Ecuador's pollution while burnishing the country's reputation as a banana republic.”

Later, I had the chance to conduct a short interview with Chevron's spokesmen Kent Robertson:

Steven Foley: Could we get your overall view of today's protest rally in SF?

Kent Robertson: We respect people’s right to voice their opinion. We do believe, however, that an objective individual might not find very much common ground with what’s being said today. Ironically, the actions of these protestors on Earth Day is only providing cover to those who are causing real environmental damage – namely Petroecuador, the state owned oil company in Ecuador.

Steven Foley: Some groups are accusing Chevron of an "unabated assault on the Earth" which seems extremely harsh. Where is this sentiment coming from? And why do you think Chevron seems to be shouldering the blame or being the focus and not other companies?

Kent Robertson: We can’t speak to where the sentiment comes from, but we can speak to the facts: Chevron is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world and a leading producer of renewable energy in the oil and gas industry.

Unfortunately, today’s protest will occur outside Chevron’s Energy Solutions (CES) subsidiary (http://www.chevronenergy.com/ ). This business unit provides public institutions and businesses with environmentally sound projects that increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. Put in perspective, CES has saved customers more than 177 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 1.185 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Meanwhile, Chevron has moved aggressively to reduce emissions within our own operations and improve efficiency, to the point where we are 27 % more energy efficient than in 1992.

Chevron is also investing in research, development and improved technology. Chevron has:

* Projected spending $2.5 billion 2007-09 on renewable and alternative energy and energy efficiency services
* Launched strategic research alliances with US government and academic institutions to develop second-generation biofuels (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, UC Davis, Texas A&M and Georgia Tech)
* A biofuels business unit created to advance technology and pursue commercial opportunities* Invested in and operates the largest hydrogen fueling infrastructure in the US

Steven Foley: In an article at NewsBlaze entitled: Earth Day March/Rally Exposing Chevron- Earth Enemy #1 the following comment was raised; "Chevron is engaged in human right abuses and environmental crimes" what's your reaction?

Kent Robertson: It’s a pretty broad and unsubstantiated statement. We believe that Chevron is a world class operator. Our operations help meet the energy needs of millions of people and Chevron plays a constructive and positive role in our host communities.

I’d also like to touch on the background on ne of the organizations behind today’s rally: Amazon Watch.

This organization purports to be an advocate for the Amazon and its people. However, during its 11-year existence, Amazon Watch has knowingly turned a blind eye to the real and acknowledged polluter in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Petroecuador. In the last five years alone, Petroecuador has recorded more than 1,000 spills. They are decades overdue in performing environmental clean-up, and their ongoing operations are making a bad situation worse. This is all documented fact, but oddly enough, Amazon Watch says nothing. Is it because they are funded by the attorneys pursuing the case against Chevron?

Steven Foley: Finally, could you comment on the status of the lawsuit and situation Chevron finds itself in Ecuador? My take is that Ecuador, her president, and other forces in the region are using certain groups in the region to perpetrate a fraud not only on Chevron but the international community as a whole.

Kent Robertson: You are spot on. Unfortunately what has occurred in the courtroom of Lago Agrio is that the interests of US personal injury lawyers, quasi-environmental groups, and the Government of Ecuador have converged. This has produced an environment where the mob mentality wins out over science, rule of law, and due process.

An objective evaluation of the facts shows that Texaco Petroleum behaved responsibly in Ecuador, that the Republic of Ecuador benefited handsomely, and that -- since assuming the full ownership and operation of the oil fields – Petroecuador has proven to be unable to adequately perform the task. Meanwhile, for 15 years, American personal injury lawyers have attempted to cash in on the situation to the detriment of the environment and the people of the Ecuadorian Amazon.


Cross posted from The Minority Report