Fossil fuel companies are a cancer: The UW Foundation must divest now
By Nick Rawling
...March 15th marked Donziger’s 585th consecutive day on house arrest.
Donziger’s crime? Winning a lawsuit against Chevron.
In 2011, Donziger won a historic civil decision in Ecuador against Chevron and her predecessor company, Texaco, after they dumped over 70 billion liters of oil and toxic waste into pristine areas of Ecuador’s rainforests; in doing so, they gave cancer and other illnesses to hundreds of the indigenous people that called those areas home. Chevron did this intentionally in order to cut costs, and they have still yet to pay for clean-up or for compensation to the victims of their actions.
Holding fossil fuel executives to account for abusing the earth should not go unpunished. After Chevron issued an internal memo stating that their goal would be to demonize Donziger, they brought a bogus countersuit against him years later. Then the government appointed a private company, Seward and Kissel, to prosecute him on contempt charges. This law firm has represented Chevron in numerous other matters — which I’m sure is 100% coincidental.
Chevron has attacked Donziger with everything at their disposal — money, lawyers and connections — in order to destroy his life. This is how we should expect these companies to treat us if we try to protect our home and ourselves from them. If we take the task of saving the world seriously, Donziger’s present is our future.