I haven’t written to you in three months because I decided to take a little break and focus on finishing my book, which has evolved into a memoir of our landmark $10 billion pollution judgment against Chevron. We even have a tentative title that I hope to reveal soon.
I’m going to share with you the beginning of the book here:
The driveway up the steep hill to enter the Danbury federal prison in Connecticut had been traversed by thousands of inmates since it opened in 1940. I never in my wildest imagination thought I would be confined here in the same place as some of the most infamous criminals in U.S. history. I had graduated in the same Harvard Law School class as President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. A guy like me – a respected lawyer who had fought on behalf of human rights victims for years and who had won a landmark pollution case in the Amazon – was not supposed to end up in a place like this. Worse, I thought that once inside there was a chance I might not ever get out. I was convinced the oil company that I had defeated in court would manipulate the situation to have me falsely charged with another fake crime to keep me there far past my 6-month sentence. For all I knew, I would never again be a free man.
I’ll share more details about my book soon. In the meantime, I’ve also been busy raising funds for campaigns to take back Congress and for activists to deal with the legal attacks from Trump’s DOJ. I'm also taking on a writing gig with a fascinating new magazine (more later), advising a group documenting civilian casualties of the US–Israel bombing of Iran, and monitoring the ongoing SLAPP case against Greenpeace.
But I have realized my heart is still in Ecuador.
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Let me explain.
Many of you know that recently I returned to Ecuador’s Amazon for the first time in seven years. I went to attend the funeral of the legendary leader Luis Yanza, who died of cancer at age 64. Many believe Chevron’s pollution killed Luis.
In Ecuador I saw old clients for the first time in years. All were hurting. Several were battling cancer. Others had died in the intervening years as my passport (due to Chevron’s retaliation) sat in the office of the court clerk in Manhattan, making me the first lawyer in US history denied his right to travel because of a dispute over a civil litigation.
Speaking at the funeral of Amazon leader Luis Yanza on March 21. It was my first trip to Ecuador’s Amazon in seven years.
As Chevron’s pollution continues to sicken and kill vulnerable people, what can be done?
This is what we are thinking.
Our team is about to go after Chevron with all that we have to honor of the sacrifices made by Luis and the affected Amazon communities.
We will launch a global campaign to enlist advocates in countries around the world where Chevron operates. We are considering organizing a global boycott as well as launch judgment enforcement actions.
Every legal pressure tactic needed to force Chevron to comply with court orders is on the table.
Our goal is to force Chevron to do what it seems to hate the most — remediate its disastrous pollution in Ecuador. In the process, we will not forget Chevron's massive complicity with human rights violations beyond Ecuador, including those against the Palestinian people whose gas the company continues to sell in complicity with the Israeli government.
This campaign has one primary goal: holding Chevron accountable to the people it poisoned and to the planet it desecrated. The precedent will send a clear message to every oil company on Earth if you pollute, you will be held responsible.
Some of my clients at Luis Yanza's funeral. Other than Emergildo Criollo (top left), each of these people told me they have been battling cancer due to repeated exposures to oil waste.
We need donations to fund the hard work of traveling to other countries to organize the campaign. Funds will help support the legal work to restore my law license so I can fight on the front lines again. And it will help establish a precedent that no corporation, no matter how powerful, can operate above the law. Chevron used 60 law firms and 2,000 lawyers to try to destroy me, but that campaign failed. I am still speaking out with as much determination and conviction as ever. While Chevron has massive resources, we have real people like you all over the world. We have a movement. With your help, Chevron cannot stop us.
With family members of Luis Yanza after his ashes were scattered in the Rio Napo. The river traverses Chevron’s cancer zone and is regarded as a lifeline for local communities.
This is a rare opportunity to support a campaign that has the potential to create an explosive global impact. Thousands of lives are at stake.
Our human rights laws are also on the line.Our goal is to raise an initial $100,000 by July 15, $250,000 by September 1, and $750,000 by the end of the year. This will help support the work of a high-level team of dedicated advocates, including lawyers and campaign organizers, so we can achieve our goals. The good news is that a generous donor has offered to match any contribution up to the first $50,000. This is a modest amount, but I promise you it is just the beginning.So let's get going so we can reach our initial benchmark by July 15. Your support is critical. Any donation in the next few days will be doubled. Monthly support helps even more. Please chip in what you can today.
If you've given before to our Ecuador justice campaigns, please consider doing so again. As importantly, please spread the word to your friends and colleagues so they hear about the campaign.
We are deeply grateful for the consideration.
-Steven
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