ECUADOR: Chevron's Amazon 'fake cleanup' trial
A report submitted this week to a court in Ecuador finding dangerous levels of contamination at oil wells Chevron says it cleaned up in the 1990s is expected to reinforce a fraud indictment against two Chevron lawyers in a $27.3 billion environmental lawsuit against the oil company.
Seven Ecuadorian officials were also included in the indictment last September for helping the Chevron lawyers orchestrate a fake cleanup of toxic waste at two oil wells in the 1990s.
Chevron dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into Amazon waterways from the mid-1960s to 1990.
The disaster was dubbed the “Amazon Chernobyl” by the international media for the extent of destruction of pristine rainforest an area the size of Rhode Island, and which is estimated at 30 times worse than the Exxon Valdez spill.
Texaco entered Ecuador’s rainforests in the mid-1960s, and at the time it was the sole operator of the largest oil concession in the rainforest.
Chevron is also accused of creating nearly 1,000 unlined waste pits for toxic sludge that seeped into groundwater that Amazon residents drank.
It is also accused of being responsible for hundreds of oil spills.
Health studies have shown that cancer and other toxic-related health problems have spiked among indigenous Amazon tribes and other communities in the area.
Texaco claimed to have “remediated” the 45 sites in question between 1995 and 1998 with an extensive cleanup.
But Pablo Fajardo, an Ecuadorian lawyer who is representing the communities in the northern Amazon in the class-action lawsuit, said the so-called remediation was little more than the dumping of dirt over a few toxic waste pools.
Independents tests, including from Chevron itself, have shown massive levels of life-threatening toxins still residing in the northern Amazon area where the oil company operated.
Earlier this year Chevron requested eight more inspections, a move that the plaintiffs argued was a last-ditch attempt to delay the end of the trial.
The latest results of two sites that were purportedly “remediated” showed toxin levels several times above permitted levels.
The findings were consistent with all the earlier tests. A damages assessment made last year on all 45 sites showed toxic levels beyond the legal limit, in some cases thousands of times higher.
With damages estimated at between $7.2 billion and $16.3 billion, the lawsuit is expected to result in one of the largest civil judgments in history.
Fajardo was named last December as a CNN “Hero” for leading the fight to hold Chevron accountable.
Chevron claims the trial is a “farce” and “rigged” and in full expectation of an “adverse” decision is preparing to appeal.
In 1992 Texaco turned over its entire operation to Ecuador’s state-owned oil company Petroecuador, which, studies show, is continuing to contaminate the environment.
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Requirements to live in Ecuador
Ecuador is definitely an ideal place to live or to stay for along time. A small country but one with great diversity for traveling and being able to reach places in just a few hours. Prices are relatively cheap, thousands of activities and the friendliness of its people will make you enjoy your stay. However, you should be informed about what is necessary for a legal and safe stay, Welcome to Ecuador!
Immigration Offices and requirements for living in Ecuador
The National Direction of Immigration of the National Police of Ecuador is the entity in charge of controlling the migratory movement within the national territory and in charge of the control of foreigners in the country according to the pertinent laws and regulations.
Their offices are located in Avenida Amazonas 3149 in front of the Mall El Jardin and their telephone numbers are:(02) 2 454 122/ 2 451 222/ 2 449 346/ 2 437 800// Migratory Control (02) 2 433 209. If you go directly to the offices you can obtain all of the information you need for making your stay legal.
Entrance of Foreigners into Ecuador
With respect to the entrance of foreigners, Immigration gives 12-X tourist visas to foreign citizens that enter Ecuadorian territory for a maximum of 180 days in a 12 month period from the time of their entrance.
Requirements:
Passport that is valid for a minimum of 6 more months
Visa
For citizens of countries in the Andean Area and Chile: citizenship ID or passport
If you would like to stay more time, a small fee is charges for extensions greater than 90 days. To ask for this, you can go to the Provincial Headquarters for Immigration that work from Monday to Friday from8:00-12:00/ 15:00-18:00
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Ecuador Expedition Uncovers ‘E.T.-Like’ Salamander
– An expedition to the pristine forests of Ecuador near the Peruvian border uncovered 12 new species, including a salamander that Conservation International said looked like E.T., the alien from the Steven Spielberg film.
The discoveries in the Nangaritza region of the Cordillera del Condor included what the researchers termed a “remarkably ugly bug-eyed salamander,” a red poison arrow frog and a frog smaller than a “pinky” fingernail. A lizard, a third frog and seven grasshoppers also were among the newly found creatures.
Leeanne Alonso, vice president of CI’s Rapid Assessment Program, said in an interview from Arlington, Virginia, late yesterday that the local people who requested the study hope to develop ecotourism in the region. The diversity of wildlife in the area may also provide health benefits to humans, she said.
“Frogs have a lot of chemicals in their skins and insects can be useful to make medicines and ointments,” Alonso said. “These species are all part of the ecosystem, playing a role in keeping it healthy, keeping water healthy and the climate.”
The findings by entomologists and herpetologists in the upper Nangaritza River basin that’s geologically isolated from other parts of the Andes also featured a glass frog, so-called for its translucent skin that shows internal organs, and two bird species endemic to the mountain range.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates there are 8 million to 14 million plants and animals in the world, of which only 1.8 million have been described by researchers.
Fungus-Free Harlequin Frogs
Another “rare” discovery was a population of harlequin frogs free of a fungus that has decimated amphibians elsewhere, Alonso said. The amphibian Chytrid fungus threatens to wipe out up to 30 percent of the world’s amphibian species, according to Conservation International.
Researchers say pollution, pathogens, invasive species and solar radiation are contributing to a dropoff in the amphibian population in addition to climate change.
Conservation International scientists said in March they discovered a jumping spider on an expedition in Papua New Guinea to help Barrick Gold Corp. decide how to develop its mines. A new snake and three unknown butterflies were discovered last year near Mount Mabu in northern Mozambique by a team led by Jonathan Timberlake, a botanist at London’s Kew Gardens.
The grasshoppers uncovered during CI’s expedition to Ecuador in April are “beautiful and covered in spines,” Alonso said. She was less complimentary about the salamander, which CI said looked like E.T. and she described as “ugly with a blunt face and a square nose.”
The two-week expedition was part of CI’s rapid-assessment program that is designed to get as much information about the species of an area so conservation recommendations can be made. The group will carry out further studies and formally press Ecuador’s government to protect the region, Alonso said.
New species of plants and ants may be uncovered once researchers have analyzed all the specimens recovered from the forest, she said.
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Ecuador defeats Peru 2-1
Jefferson Montero and Carlos Tenorio scored for Ecuador in a 2-1 victory at Peru Sunday in World Cup qualifying in South America.
The victory gave Ecuador some hope as a long shot of reaching next year’s World Cup finals in South Africa. Brazil and Paraguay each have 24 points in 13 games, but Brazil leads on goal difference. They are followed by: Chile (23), Argentina (22), Uruguay (17), Ecuador (17) Venezuela (16), Colombia (14), Bolivia (12) and Peru (7).
Montero scored in the 37th with Peru’s Juan Vargas equaling in the 51st, setting the stage for Tenorio’s 58th minute winner.
Ecuador is home against Argentina on Wednesday and Peru plays at Colombia.
PERU: Raul Fernandez, Amilton Prado (Alexander Sanchez, 71) Alberto Rodriguez, Carlos Zambrano, Walter Vilchez, Juan Vargas, Reiner Torres (Josepmir Ballon, 78) Paolo de la Haza, Luis Ramirez (Roberto Merino, 46) Paolo Guerrero, Johan Fano.
ECUADOR: Marcelo Elizaga, Neicer Reasco, Marcelo Fleitas, Jorge Guagua, Walter Ayovi, Segundo Castillo, Edison Mendez, Cristian Noboa, Jefferson Montero (Isaac Mina, 83), Pablo Palacios (Jeffre Guerron, 61), Carlos Tenorio (Fernando Hidalgo, 87).
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Food From Ecuador – Delicious!
Ecuador has an exceptional geographic location. Having its coast to the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by Peru and by Colombia, and having different altitudes in its country, part of it in the Amazon forest, the diversity in climates and cultures adds to the diversity in its food.
Food in Ecuador has a great variation between the different regions of the country. The Andean region has one style, the mountain people another and the coast people another. Each one having delicious dishes, and because if its very fertile land, it has an enormous amount of fruits and vegetables. Also, it shows us three very different styles in cooking.
Different from other South American countries, people in the Ecuadorian cities don’t go home for lunch, they eat just something near their working places, and though they have breakfast, lunch and dinner, this last one is their main meal.
Their dinner almost always includes a soup. Ecuador is famous for its soups. They are also famous for the seafood, and their vegetables. Potatoes, of course, are an important part of their diet, as well as their delicious variety of exotic fruits. The food in Ecuador is varied, according to the different regions.
In the mountain regions, we will find pork, chicken, potatoes, and grains -corn and rice- and plenty of fruits. By the coast we have all kinds of fishes, shrimps, lobsters, soups. And south of the mountains, we have another kind of food, including ceviche, made with shrimps, pork, a banana soup, and delicious desserts.
There’s no limit on what we can find to eat in Ecuador. Their fruits, their vegetables and their fishes are all extremely good and make your mouth want more and more of those delicacies. They add to all this, a special sauce, called “aji”, which is a hot sauce, and you can decide if you use it or not. But any dish is tasty enough without it!
In addition to all this, the Ecuadorian chocolate is just wonderful! In Europe, mostly in Italy, they just adore this chocolate!
If we were to summarize what the food in Ecuador is, we could say, they eat plenty of sea food, beef, chicken, pork. They eat potatoes cooked in many different ways, rice, corn, many vegetables and many different fruits. Soups are almost a must in each dinner. And all this prepared using their wonderful spices! Ecuadorians are used to exquisite desserts, but, most of all, delicious chocolate!
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