[Nettime-nl] Davos Award for corporate irresponsibility

[rini@paradigmshift.nl <rini@paradigmshift.nl>]

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Chevron's troubled brand
image
took another battering today after the California-based oil giant won the
2006 Public Eye on Davos Award for corporate irresponsibility in the
environment category during a ceremony coinciding with the Davos World
Economic Forum.

Chevron (formerly ChevronTexaco) had been nominated by San Francisco-based
non-profit Amazon Watch for the corporation's refusal to clean up one of
the
planet's worst environmental disasters, in the Ecuadorian rainforest,
triggered by toxic dumping from 1967 to 1992.  Chevron is currently a
defendant in a historic class-action trial in Ecuador brought by 30,000
rainforest dwellers.

The Public Eye on Davos Awards are given each year by Swiss environmental
organizations the Berne Declaration and Pro Natura-Friends of the Earth
and
coincides with the official World Economic Forum in Davos, attended by
government officials and corporate executives.  Other 2006 winners were
Walt
Disney Corporation and Citigroup.

According to Amazon Watch, Chevron's crude waste releases in Ecuador were
at least 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill, and the toxic waste
has
now permeated the water table in an area greater than the size of Rhode
Island.  Texaco reaped $30 billion in profits from its operations in
Ecuador.

Throughout the contaminated area, most local residents are forced to drink
contaminated water from natural sources.  Two indigenous groups who live
in
the area have seen their populations plummet.  Rates of cancer, birth
defects
and miscarriages have skyrocketed, according to various health studies.

Amazon Watch spokesperson Jennifer DeLury Ciplet accepted the award on
behalf of Chevron.  She said: "Chevron's brand will remain as tainted
as the
Ecuadorian Amazon until CEO David O'Reilly accepts responsibility for
cleaning up the contamination.  We call on Chevron to fund a
comprehensive remediation of the devastated area and provide health care
for the thousands of Ecuadorians suffering from this toxic catastrophe."

Cleanup has been estimated to cost a minimum of $6.14 billion, excluding
personal damages to the thousands of victims.  The final judgment could
set a
worldwide benchmark for corporate accountability regarding environmental
negligence.

For details of the 2006 Public Eye on Davos Awards, visit:
http://www.evb.ch/en/p25010601.html

For details of an international artproject about Ecuador visit:
http://www.oilatwhatcost.org


Rini Hartman


DigiCare Foundation
http://www.digicarefoundation.org

Mission Statement
DigiCare Foundation is a nonprofit organisation established to promote
'art for social change'. We believe that a healthy society is founded
on the principles of justice, shared economic opportunity and
sustainable environmental practices.

In those areas of the world where people need help we assist them to tell
their stories to the world in compelling, informative and engaging ways
through art, (cross-)media productions and interactivity. We value our
partnerships with NGO's, other Community based organisations and
engaged artists.

Healthy societies rely fundamentally on respect for human rights, the
vitality of communities and the integrity of all creation.
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