Refinery fire blazed through the Richmond community

 “If Chevron violated the law,” spouted EPA Assistant Director Dan Meer at a recent public meeting,  “we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”  After the refinery explosion and fire that rocked the entire Bay Area—if Chevron did NOT violate the law, maybe there is something wrong with the law.

Chevron reps announced it would pay medical expenses and reimburse property damage resulting from the heavy smoke that billowed for miles throughout the night. Not surprisingly these big statements offer no large comfort to angry and frightened residents—14,600 of whom were sent to the hospital in the aftermath of the August 6 blaze.

And while a total of 5 investigations have been launched, those living on the refinery fenceline have heard it all before—and more critically live with it everyday—not just on days Chevron’s negligence makes headlines. “In North Richmond, we are on the front lines of chemical exposure on a daily basis,” Henry Clark, founder of the West County Toxics Coalition told demonstrators on Labor Day.

What would it really take to make Chev-wrong truly responsible to the community and to the ecosystem—more hearings? A fatter fine? Up-to-date first warning systems? How about another task force made up of city officials, regulators and members of Chevron’s slick PR machine? While ideas like these have popped up at Town Hall meetings and other public forums, they all seem right out of the Chevron public-backlash playbook.

But what if we actually believed we could get what we WANTED, not just what we thought we could get? We could ask real questions such as:

• What would  it look like if the residents of Richmond were truly in charge—would Chevron operate differently (or would it be there at all)?
• What if the local ecosystem had legal rights and could sue Chevron … to make the local environment whole, the way it was before the refinery was ever built?

Shannon Biggs

Weekend Seminar in Richmond CA September 7-8th

These are questions Global Exchange and Women’s Earth and Climate Caucus (WECC) will be asking at a weekend seminar taking place in Richmond, CA September 7th-8^th.  I’ll be there on behalf of Global Exchange, and Osprey Orielle Lake will represent WECC.

Osprey Orielle Lake, founder WECC

We are thrilled that joining the discussion will be local activist and Native American gallery owner, Pennie Opal Plant, who said, “Chevron has been destroying nature and poisoning people for over 100 years. Humanity is part of the web of life known as Nature. If Nature doesn’t have rights, then a viable future for the next seven generations is doubtful.”

Pennie Opal Plant and Michael Horse from Gathering Tribes

Please join us for a rich discussion of just what rights of nature could mean for residents in Richmond, CA—and across the country. Learn what over 100 other communities across the US are doing differently to put the rights of residents and nature before corporate profits.

In this dynamic seminar we will discuss whether or not rights of nature would be a good campaign for residents of Richmond, and look at the historic 2008 event when Ecuador became the first country to include Rights of Nature in its national constitution and then cover movements since then in Bolivia and here in the U.S. as Rights of Nature takes hold as an idea whose time has come.

Rights of Nature laws create a right to legal standing, offering citizens, communities, Indigenous peoples, and others a revolutionary new way to protect the vitality of the ecosystems we live in and depend upon.

Seminar Details: The seminar will run from 7:00-9:30pm on Friday, September 7th and 10am-5pm on Saturday, September 8th. The cost for both days is $50 and includes all materials. (If you are a resident of the Richmond fenceline community, we may have a scholarship for you.   To register, please contact Jordan Vilchez (jordanvilchez@gmail.com).

Chevron Fire August 6, 2012 Photo Credit: Noah Chandler www.NoahChandler.com

Last night, in our own backyard, Chevron’s refinery in Richmond, CA had an explosion and fire. Though damage reports are still coming in, luckily no refinery workers or local residents were killed.

We’ve gathered some photos of the Chevron explosion on our Facebook page.

Chevron Fire August 6, 2012 Photo Credit: Noah Chandler www.NoahChandler.com

During our weekly staff meeting this morning, Global Exchange staff and interns shared and discussed what happened. Some staff and interns live in close proximity to the refinery. Kara from our Fair Trade Store in San Francisco witnessed the actual explosion and resulting fire. Many of us saw plumes of black smoke enveloping the east bay sky. Zarah thought a bomb had gone off. Drea expressed concern about breathing in the toxic air, even today.

Hearing the emergency broadcast system announcement on the radio and learning it was not a test enlightened folks to the gravity of the situation. It was not safe to be outside in certain areas.

SF Gate reported that thousands of East Bay residents were ordered to stay in their homes with the windows and doors closed following the explosion.

The Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) is documenting community stories to build better protocols in the future, because as they assert:

The multi-lingual warning systems that APEN and our allies fought for and won, failed. Many residents reported not being properly notified and are now experienc(ing) dizziness, headaches and other symptoms of exposure to toxins. We want to document community experiences so we can assure that better systems can be in put into place in the future. 

Global Exchange is part of the True Cost of Chevron Network, and staffers here are well aware of Chevron’s ongoing atrocities around the world. But when it wafts into the air we breathe, it really hits home, as it has for so many other communities affected by Chevron over the years.

Not surprisingly, Global Exchange just recently named Chevron in our 2012 Most Wanted Human Rights Violators List because “The petrochemical company Chevron is guilty of some of the worst environmental and human rights abuses in the world.”

So what happens now?

Tonight Chevron’s PR representatives will be holding an informational hearing about the explosion. And others are mobilizing to rally and protest. APEN explains:

In the first SIX months of this year, Chevron made $13.7 BILLION in profits. Chevron has consistently chosen short-term profit over protection of residents. For decades, Richmond residents have advocated for Chevron to replace its old equipment as soon as possible. Chevron refused to simply update its unsafe equipment and instead attempted to deceive the community and EXPAND its facility in Richmond. The project was really about building the infrastructure to refine heavier and dirtier grades of crude oil.

We think that Chevron will trot out the “refinery safety” Trojan horse once again. You, me, we can not allow them to succeed. We will always oppose any project that adds more pollution and puts our community at risk – will you join us? Chevron is holding a community meeting tonight at 6 PM and APEN will be there rallying before the meeting. Our members and allies will speak at the meeting to tell Chevron what their pursuit of profits has cost our community. Join us in holding Chevron accountable for the unacceptable health risks they expose the Richmond community to.

TAKE ACTION!

 Public town hall meeting/Q & A about the Chevron refinery explosion and fire: Tonight, August 7th at 6 pm in the Richmond Memorial Auditorium (403 Civic Center Plaza in the city of Richmond) – people are encouraged to attend.  Please bring signs in support of community health and people over profit! Community partners joining to protest and rally this evening include APEN, along with Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), and others. They’ll be in front of the Richmond Memorial Auditorium 403 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond at 5:30 pm TONIGHT. Click here for details.  

You can also find info about tonight on this Chevwrong meeting Facebook event page.

Spread the word!  To spread the word about the meeting and rally tonight, tweet this!

RESOURCES:

• Reporters seeking expert analysis regarding the Richmond Chevron refinery explosion and fire: click here for contact info.
• CBE’s press contacts: http://www.cbecal.org/media/cbe-updates/

Protest puppet during Chevron shareholder meeting May 30, 2012 Photo Credit: Global Exchange

Community members from around the world who have suffered from the impacts of Chevron’s actions gathered today outside Chevron’s headquarters in support of human rights, environmental, economic and climate justice. Global Exchange Director of Organizing Kirsten Moller was there:
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On May 30th, people gathered from around the world to descend on San Ramon, CA and confront Chevron at its annual shareholder meeting.

The protest space in front of Chevron has gotten smaller in the past two years—the wide open green lawn has been replaced by spiky succulents in bark dust and a new fence sweeps around the landscape to tastefully keep the protesters confined to the sidewalk.

That didn’t stop the spirited annual gathering of representatives from affected communities in Brazil, Nigeria, Angola, Ecuador and Richmond, California who came to let the shareholders know that their investments were in danger.

Global Exchange arrived with a pile of signs in the shape of brooms and barrels of oil calling on Chevron to clean up their messes wherever they make them  — oil spills in Brazil, toxic dumping in Ecuador and flaring in Africa – the list goes on and on.  Kate McLain (pictured below) was among the group of protestors. She recently returned from a  Global Exchange Reality Tours trip to Ecuador all fired up and ready to carry the message “Clean Up Chevron.” Meanwhile The  Brass Liberation Orchestra led us all in fierce chants of  “Chevron should pay up;  Chevron should clean up”  while a huge puppet welcomed shareholders to their meeting.

Chevron protester May 30, 2012 Photo Credit: Global Exchange

Inside representatives submitted more than 7 resolutions calling for more transparency and accountability.  Not all of the representatives were allowed inside, despite having valid proxies from shareholders.  Joao Antonio de Moraes of the Brazilian Federation of Oil Workers was one of them.

He had told us during a teach-in the night before that accidents can be avoided if worker’s rights to a safe environment are respected. Workers are on the front-line, and workers and environmentalists have a lot in common.

The teamsters and the steelworkers were there to second that idea!  Pitting workers against community members and jobs vs. the environment has been a key strategy of Chevron. We were there to say no more.

Kate McLain, Global Exchange Ecuador Reality Tour participant, at Chevron protest May 30, 2012 Photo Credit: Global Exchange

While we waited outside, Richmond community members talked about asthma, cancer, and how children are bribed with pencils and field trips to think that a company town is a good thing.  But members from the APEN, CBE and Progressive Richmond Alliance agreed on this message to the members inside:  “Shareholders, when you choose profit over the people in the communities, you will lose!”

While Richmond has succeeded in preventing any legal permits for refinery expansion and Ecuador has won an unprecedented $18 billion dollar settlement against Chevron, Chevron continues to act like a fugitive, running from its legal responsibilities. The Ecuadorian courts have upheld the judgment against the company and now the plaintiffs are poised to seize Chevron’s assets anywhere in the world.

The network gathered outside the headquarters were clear that we will not stop making connections and working together until Chevron pays for the damage it has caused.

Chevron, Chevron you can’t hide……

TAKE ACTION!

• Download this free True Cost of Chevron Report Alternative Annual Report for featuring new sections
  and accounts written by 40 authors from around the world.
• Travel to Ecuador: Take a Reality Tours trip where you’ll tour of Chevron’s toxic oil legacy in the Amazon; speak with the leaders and healers of affected communities

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced

“Action is the antidote to despair.“  ~Joan Baez

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  ~Margaret Mead

—

Tens of thousands of us have stood up this year and changed the global analysis and understanding of inequality, wealth accumulation and corporate greed and power. Ten of thousands of us have said enough is enough and brought change to our communities, cities and countries.

We here at Global Exchange offer gratitude to all those who have stood up to resist injustice, envision alternatives and take action. Together we are part of monumental shift, and there is no turning back.

We thank:

• The change makers in Egypt: Thank you to the courageous demonstrators in Egypt whose force grew into a movement that brought about the end of Mubarak’s regime and more recently the military offering its resignation We’re inspired by your bravery, determination, and sheer numbers.

• Those who saw that Chevron was found guilty: Thank you to indigenous community members and human rights and environmental justice advocates who worked together to ensure Chevron was brought to justice in an Ecuadorian court. The battle may not be over, but it took courage and conviction to get this far. We hope that BP is also held accountable.

• Unionists and allies in Wisconsin: Thank you to the protesters who occupied the State Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconsin in attempt to stop the bill that curbs the bargaining rights of most state workers (now signed by Governor Walker). With efforts now underway to reclaim democracy, we support your efforts, voice and action.

• Climate Activist Tim deChristopher: Thanks for your simple act of civil disobedience to scupper a controversial auction of thousands of acres of land, to protect it from false leases that would have been snapped up by gas and oil companies for exploitation. We send solidarity to you, as you serve the 2 year sentence in jail.

• Money Movers and Shakers: Thanks to…
  · 22 year old Molly Katchpole who single-handedly launched a successful Change.org petition against Bank of America;
  · Move Your Money and other likeminded organizations that helped US bank account holders break up with their bank and move their money from big corporate banks to local credit unions where people are account holders AND owners.

• Creative folks behind the video “How to Really Annoy the banks and Finance Companies” which is up to 80,000+ YouTube views and counting and the Story of Stuff Project that’s new release of the Story of Broke just came out. We are honored to be part of a movement that has such spark and creativity.

• Stop Keystone XL Activists: Thanks to the 1253 of you who were arrested in late summer at the White House, the 350 of you who were arrested in late September in Ottawa, the dozens of action teams who followed President Obama this fall, the12,000 of you who surrounded the White House in November, and the massive organizing effort of the Tar Sands Action crew. By making approval of the Keystone XL pipeline impossible to President Obama, we delayed a decision on this pipeline which would have opened up the tar sands in Alberta to an addition 900 000 barrels of oil extraction a day. We know we will stop this.

• Javier Sicilia and the new peace movement in Mexico: Thank you for building a movement to free Mexico from the spiraling violence of the ‘war on drugs.’ We are grateful for your immense courage, dignity and integrity in the face of unspeakable horrors.

• Gaza Freedom Flotilla: Thanks to activists aboard the Audacity of Hope and other boats in the Freedom Flotilla for your non-violent efforts this spring to bring needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza while striving to lift the illegal siege of Gaza and achieve freedom for the Palestinian people. 

• Occupiers of Wall Street and Beyond: Thanks to the 99% who are standing up and taking action to say Enough is Enough. On Nov. 15th Berkeley professor Robert Reich shared with the Occupy Cal crowd these words:

“Moral outrage is the beginning. The days of apathy are over, folks. And once it has begun it cannot be stopped and it will not be stopped.”

Surely he is correct.

Who are you thankful for? What is the next victory and who will make it happen?

Dozens of activists including those from Angola, Nigeria, Canada, Alaska, and the U.S. Gulf Coast traveled to San Ramon, California to attend Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting to deliver a new report: The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report. This report includes accounts by more than 40 authors and records egregious corporate behavior in locations as diverse as California, Burma, Colombia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the Philippines and the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Outside the Chevron AGM, activists joined together to fight back in protest against the dire impacts of Chevron’s reckless pursuit of profits.

Two days before Chevron’s shareholder meeting, members of communities from around the world that have been impacted by Chevron’s reckless business operations participated in a True Cost of Chevron Teach-In.

To find out more about what happened during these events, here’s info on photos, videos and press clippings for you:

PHOTOS OF CHEVRON AGM PROTEST

Check them out here on Flickr.

MEDIA CLIPPINGS

• Women Demand Environmental Justice from Chevron /Ms Magazine
• Chevron under siege at shareholder meeting in San Ramon/Mercury News
• Activists’ ‘True Cost’ report takes on Chevron/SF Gate
• Chevron critics hold protest at shareholders meeting/San Ramon Express

For more press clippings, visit our Energy Program in the News web page.

VIDEO FROM OUTSIDE THE CHEVRON AGM

Watch Videos from outside the Chevron AGM here.

Here’s one of Global Exchange Energy Program Director Antonia Juhashz:

NOW IS STILL THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION!

Get your copy of The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report. Download the report or make a $15 contribution to Global Exchange to receive a hard copy of the book.

Sign on to the petition “Leave it in the Ground: Statement against Arctic Offshore Drilling”: Please take 30 seconds to sign the petition here.

We’ll be at Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting in San Ramon, California on May 25. Will you join us?

Nearly two years ago, Global Exchange formed the Energy Program (previously the Chevron Program), to expand and better coordinate a network of communities directly impacted by Chevron’s operations across California, the U.S. and the world. With your help, we have done so with great success, establishing the True Cost of Chevron Network at an inspiring international strategy session following Chevron’s annual meeting last year in Houston.

This year, we will be back again to take on Chevron with an even stronger Network.

On May 23, we will host a public teach-in at the Brower Center in Berkeley. Learn more and RSVP on facebook – and please invite your friends.

On May 24, we will release the third annual True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report. Filled with an amazing array of first-hand accounts of Chevron’s abuses written by impacted community members from around the world, this year’s report includes new locations, such as China, the North Sea and the Beaufort Sea. There is also a special focus on Chevron and offshore drilling in the wake of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon.

On May 25, we will attend Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting while a support protest rally takes place outside Chevron’s gates. Learn more and RSVP on facebook – and please invite your friends.

Allies joining us in the Bay Area include Humberto Piaguaje, Amazon Defense Coalition, Ecuador; Emem Okon, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Nigeria; Mardan Pius Ginting, WALHI – Friends of the Earth Indonesia, Indonesia; Gitz Crazyboy, First Nation Dene/Pikini (Blackfoot), Alberta, Canada; Elias Isaac, Open Society Initiative, Angola; Bryan Parras and Liana Lopez, Texas Environmental Advocacy Services and the Gulf Coast Fund, Houston, Texas; Tom Evans, of the Native village of Nanwalek, CookInlet Keepers, Alaska, and more.

TAKE ACTION

• Attend the Teach-in on May 23 and Protest Rally on May 25!
• Order the True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report, available May 24.
• Donate funds to help support all our activities.

Stay tuned to the Chevron Program blog for continued updates about the upcoming Chevron shareholder meeting in San Ramon, California.

The following post was written by Tonya Hennessey, Global Exchange Energy Program’s Chevron AGM Campaign Coordinator:

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“2010 was an outstanding year for Chevron.”

With these words, CEO John Watson opens Chevron’s 2010 Annual Report.

The communities who bear the costs of Chevron’s operations do not agree. On May 23, you can hear directly from community leaders who will travel from Angola, Nigeria, Ecuador, Indonesia, the tar sands of Canada, Alaska, Texas, Richmond, CA and beyond to the Bay Area to share the true cost of Chevron’s operations where they live.

JOIN US AT A TEACH-IN ON THE TRUE COST OF CHEVRON

Monday, May 23 from 7-10 PM PST
David Brower Center, Tamalpais Room, 2150 Allston Way
Berkeley, California 94704
Tel: 510.809.0900

Elias Isaac will travel from Angola to share his story at the teach-in. Elias, of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, wrote in the forthcoming True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report for 2010 (our third installment of the report to be released soon):

“The impacts of oil activity in the Sea of Cabinda are so disastrous that most of the sand on the shores is polluted and black in color, and most of the beaches cannot be used. Chevron barely acknowledges or accepts responsibility for these impacts. According to fishermen, the shortage of fish in the Sea of Cabinda started in the 1980s, reaching its peak in the late 1990s when serious environmental destruction began.”

Also speaking at the teach-in is Mardan Pius Ginting of WAHLI-Friends of the Earth Indonesia. Pius wrote in the True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report for 2010:

“Chevron has employed brutal measures to quiet protests, including utilizing Indonesia’s notorious security services, bringing charges of human rights abuse, violence and intimidation.”

Other teach-in speakers traveling to the Bay Area from Chevron-affected communities include:

• Humberto Piaguaje, Amazon Defense Coalition, Ecuador
• Emem Okon, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Nigeria
• Gitz Crazyboy (Ryan Deranger), First Nation Dene/Pikini (Blackfoot), Alberta, Canada
• Bryan Parras, Texas Environmental Advocacy Services and the Gulf Coast Fund, Houston, Texas
• Tom Evans, of the Native village of Nanwalek, CookInlet Keepers, Alaska

While the company touts its “Human Energy” PR message of corporate social responsibility, we will bear witness to the social and environmental costs that go unmentioned by Chevron. Chevron’s current “We Agree” ad campaign asks: “Oil Companies Should Support the Communities They’re a Part Of: Do You Agree?”

A close look at Chevron’s operations worldwide shows a very different picture.

JOIN SUPPORT RALLY DURING CHEVRON SHAREHOLDER MEETING

On May 25, these community leaders and many more will go to Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting in San Ramon. We ask you to join us there at a support rally outside of Chevron’s gates.

More information about this event will be available on our website soon.

Today, our friends at Amnesty International have launched an important new campaign to end flaring — and you can help!

The oil industry is abusing the human rights of hundreds of thousands of people in the Niger Delta region. So far, the Nigerian government can’t or won’t hold oil companies accountable. Amnesty’s Demand Dignity Campaign is pressuring the world’s largest oil companies–including Chevron, and the government of Nigeria, to clean up the Niger Delta. As part of that work, Amnesty International USA’s new Eyes on Nigeria project uses the power of satellite technology to monitor oil industry abuses in the region.

A major source of oil pollution is the practice of gas flaring — burning off excess gas as waste. The people of the Niger Delta need a real deadline for ending gas flaring — and they need full transparency about the health risks of flaring.

This summer, Amnesty International will be pushing government and corporations for accountability on this issue.

TAKE ACTION!

Add your voice to the Niger Delta petition at amnestyusa.org/endgasflaring.

Learn More!

Read about gas-flaring in Nigeria in The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report.

Stay connected!

• Check The Energy Program website for updates
• Follow the Energy Program on Twitter
• Follow the Energy Program on Facebook!

Photos (c) Alison Dilworth/Friends of the Earth

“This decision is a slap in the face to the democratic nation of Ecuador and the thousands of Ecuadorian citizens who have courageously fought for 18 years to hold Chevron accountable for committing the world’s worst environmental disaster. The trampling of due process in the court’s refusal to consider key evidence or hold a hearing to determine the facts is an inappropriate exercise of judicial power that will harm the United States’ relationship with Latin America and other parts of the world. It disregards the scholarly and comprehensive 188-page opinion of Ecuadorian Judge Nicolas Zambrano, a well-respected member of Ecuador’s judiciary. It also ignores key evidence that Chevron has committed a series of frauds in Ecuador to cover up its unlawful misconduct.

“We want to emphasize that after appeals in Ecuador the Ecuadorian plaintiffs retain their full right to lawfully enforce the judgment of their own country’s courts in any of the dozens of nations around the world where Chevron has assets. In the meantime, we will appeal the decision on multiple grounds.”

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Take Action! Join Rainforest Action Network as it seeks to Expose Chevron’s Human Rights Hit Men! at the heart of Chevron’s attack.

In recent weeks, the world has seen major turning points in the struggle for justice and human rights. Just last week, after nearly a month of demonstrations and thirty years of living under oppression, the people of Egypt rose up and brought about the resignation of Hosni Mubarak.

This week, there was a major turning point in the struggle against Big Oil when Chevron was found guilty in Ecuador.

Now its time for all of us to join with the plaintiffs in celebration and then get to work, holding Chevron to account and making sure that the company pays up.

After a nearly 18-year-long struggle pitting indigenous communities in Ecuador against Chevron–the world’s fifth largest corporation–and supported by millions of people all around the world (including YOU!) Chevron was found GUILTY.

On February 14, an Ecuadorian court found Chevron guilty of massive environmental contamination in the Ecuadorian Amazon and ordered the company to pay $8.6 billion to clean up its mess, provide potable water, and fund critical health care.

The judge then gave Chevron two weeks to publicly apologize. If it fails to do so, damages will be added to the ruling, and the judgment will be doubled.

The decision vindicates what indigenous peoples and local farmers have been saying, and suffering, for decades – that Chevron drilled, dumped, and never looked back. Now, a court of Chevron’s choosing, using mostly the company’s own evidence, has found that the company is liable in one of the largest judgments against a US company for crimes abroad.

Global Exchange stands with our allies in celebration and solidarity with the 30,000 plaintiffs who have achieved this tremendous milestone in their struggle for justice. We thank you for everything you have done to support them and us.

But just as is the case in Egypt, the struggle is not over. Chevron has announced that it will not pay and that it will appeal the ruling.

We ask you to continue the fight to ensure that Chevron pays up and cleans up its toxic mess.

TAKE ACTION

Visit ChevonToxico.com and send a message to Chevron’s CEO!

Learn More about the lawsuit in our Alternative Annual Report for Chevron.

Support our efforts linking communities across the U.S. and around the world in their struggles against Chevron and Big Oil.

Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter as our efforts to hold Chevron to account continue.

P.S. Global Exchange is hiring! Join the Global Exchange family.