Tag Archives: Petroleum industry

Help Chevron come up with its next absurd excuse

A court of appeals in Ecuador has upheld the $18 billion ruling of a lower court, confirming what 30,000 Ecuadoreans suffering from Chevron’s oil pollution in the Amazon and activists the world over have known for decades: Chevron is guilty.

There is no question of Chevron’s responsibility for dumping some 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste in the Ecuadorean Amazon. The only question, at this point, is what ludicrous talking point Chevron will roll out this time to explain away its refusal to pay to clean up its mess.

Chevron spokespeople have claimed that oil is no more toxic than women’s makeup and that just because their company bought Texaco in 2001 doesn’t mean Chevron has to clean up its mess. They have vowed to fight against paying to clean up until hell freezes over, and then to “fight it out on the ice.” It’s clear the company could use a little help in crafting its excuses. Why don’t you help Chevron out by coming up with the next absurd talking point to justify putting profits before people?

The real reason Chevron won’t take responsibility for its mess in Ecuador is, of course, unbridled greed. And a complete disregard for human life. More than 1,400 Ecuadoreans have died from Chevron’s oil pollution in the Amazon, but it’s all about money for the Big Oil behemoth.

Everyone from oil industry analysts to Chevron shareholders are calling on the company to rethink its endless litigation strategy in Ecuador. What excuse can the company possibly come up with this time for refusing to clean up its mess? Why not help them out. Go to this page, pick your favorite Chevron spokesperson, enter your ludicrous excuse, and we’ll post it to our “Excuse Gallery” on ChevronThinksWereStupid.org.

		For a cleaner future,
		Ginger Cassady Change Chevron

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A Shocking Conflict of Interest? … Ben Kroetz, Greenpeace

07/13/2011 Nativegrl77

I wanted to share with you this opportunity from our friends over at the League of Conservation Voters. They’re doing important work to call out the shocking conflict of interests between Congress and Big Oil. Please take a minute and add your name to their petition targeting Congressman Ryan (R-WI).

Sincerely,

Ben Kroetz
Greenpeace USA
————-

Tell Congressman Paul Ryan that championing special tax breaks for Big Oil while profiting from the oil industry is wrong.

Carmen —

Click here to add your name to our petition to Congressman Paul Ryan.

When Republican Congressman Paul Ryan was asked at a town hall meeting in Waterford, Wisc., about the need to end subsidies to oil companies, he responded, “I agree.”¹

But just one week later, Ryan voted to give Big Oil billions in taxpayer-funded handouts.²

Now comes the shocking revelation that Congressman Ryan and his family are making thousands of dollars from oil companies that lease their land – companies that stand to benefit from the same tax breaks Ryan is pushing.

Click here to add your name to our petition to Congressman Ryan. Tell him that championing special tax breaks for Big Oil while profiting from the oil industry is wrong.

Newsweek and the Daily Beast reported recently on what appears to be Ryan’s shocking conflict of interest:³

The financial disclosure report Ryan filed with Congress last month and made public this week shows he and his wife, Janna, own stakes in four family companies that lease land in Texas and Oklahoma to the very energy companies that benefit from the tax subsidies in Ryan’s budget plan.

Ryan’s father-in-law, Daniel Little, who runs the companies, told Newsweek and The Daily Beast that the family companies are currently leasing the land for mining and drilling to energy giants such as Chesapeake Energy, Devon, and XTO Energy, a recently acquired subsidiary of ExxonMobil.

Some of these firms would be eligible for portions of the $45 billion in energy tax breaks and subsidies over 10 years protected in the Wisconsin lawmaker’s proposed budget.

Not only has Ryan voted to give Big Oil companies like ExxonMobil billions in government handouts, but – as the article notes – he has proposed a 2012 budget that also gives Big Oil billions in special tax breaks.⁴ And as the point person on the budget for the Republican House leadership, Ryan has significant sway and influence on the congressional budget process.

At a time when middle-class families are feeling the pinch of an economy still on the rebound and state governments are facing massive budget shortfalls, Ryan is asking American taxpayers to continue providing massive government handouts for some of the world’s most profitable companies – all while his family stands to benefit from some of those same companies’ profits.

Click here to sign our petition to Congressman Ryan. Tell him it is shameful to champion billions in oil industry tax breaks while personally profiting from the oil industry’s good fortune.

Thank you for taking action.

Sincerely,

Navin Nayak
Senior Vice President, Campaigns
League of Conservation Voters

¹ http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/04/28/162071/paul-ryan-oil-subsidies/
² http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll293.xml
³ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/17/paul-ryan-s-shrewd-budget-payday-congressman-could-benefit-from-tax-breaks-he-proposes.html
⁴ http://www.lcv.org/newsroom/press-releases/LCV-Statement-on-Big-Oil-Budget-Proposed-by-Chairman-Paul-Ryan.html

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Greenpeace

05/10/2011 Nativegrl77

One year later and Congress has learned nothing.

Instead of making it harder for oil companies like Shell to drill in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean, the House of Representatives just voted to make it easier. If this legislation becomes law, the oil industry will be even less regulated now than it was a year ago before the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

And to make matters worse, Shell already gets millions in subsidies every year from the U.S. government. In fact, last year Shell paid effectively no taxes at all to the U.S. government. Congress is giving them more incentive to take unacceptable risks with our national treasures. It’s time to put a end to this dangerous game. We have a chance to do just that.

As soon as tomorrow, Congress will be voting on a bill that would cut billions of dollars worth of subsidies to oil companies like Shell. But the industry and their friends in Washington are currently doing everything they can to stop that from happening. That’s why you need to speak up and send a message to your members of Congress.

www.greenpeaceusa.org

Congress needs to hear your voice. Ask your members of Congress to put an end to government subsidies to the oil industry now.

Shell just submitted plans to drill up to ten new wells in Alaska’s Arctic Ocean over the next two years using the same faulty technology that BP uses in the Gulf. But Shell’s plans in the shallow waters of the Arctic are even more dangerous than BP’s are in the Gulf and run a higher risk of blowouts, according to government data.

Shell isn’t prepared for a disaster in the Arctic Ocean. No one is. It’s a known fact that there’s no way to effectively clean up an oil spill in the Arctic’s harsh conditions. All they care about is their corporate bottom line.

Congress should be fighting for you. It’s your money and it’s our land. The vote could be happening as soon as tomorrow. Contact your members of Congress today and ask them to put an end to government subsidies to the oil industry before it’s too late.

www.greenpeaceusa.org

Sincerely,

Melanie Duchin

Greenpeace Arctic Campaigner

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stop the new Congress from drilling in the Arctic

11/05/2010 Nativegrl77

Urge President Obama to designate the Arctic Refuge as a National Monument.

Big corporate funders bet millions on this year’s election and won — and will look to cash in their chips starting in January with the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Chief among these corporate funders is the oil and gas industry, which spent $19.5 million to elect pro-drilling candidates. Big Oil is looking for an immediate return on their investment, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is high on their list of targets.

For decades oil companies have waged a dogged campaign to drill in the Arctic Refuge, one of the most beautiful and pristine wild places on earth. With new pro-drilling candidates to take office in January, we need to take immediate action to protect this precious refuge.

Help protect the Arctic Refuge before Congress ever bangs a gavel next year: Urge President Obama to designate the Arctic Refuge as a National Monument, like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, so it is no longer threatened by the whims of politicians.

The Arctic Refuge is one of our nation’s last refuges for wildlife – it is invaluable, iconic and a living monument to America’s unique wilderness heritage. Big mammals like caribou and polar bears still roam across the Arctic Refuge. It is home to millions of the world’s birds — including snow geese and bald eagles. They return each year to find refuge from a world of encroaching hazards.

For 50 years this remarkable place has been kept safe, protected from human development, because of people like you have been willing to stand up to the oil and gas interests determined to “drill baby drill.” Now that the elections are over, as Americans, we have a moral and civic duty to ensure that the peace in the Arctic Refuge is not broken by big drilling machines – not on our watch.

With a new, more drilling-friendly House of Representatives, and the Refuge’s 50th anniversary coming up, President Obama can do the right thing and make a real statement that America will not submit its greatest treasures to the follies of politics.

Tell the President: Protect the Arctic Refuge as a National Monument.

Thank you for taking action,

The Change.org Team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stop the new Congress from drilling in the Arctic

11/04/2010 Nativegrl77

Urge President Obama to designate the Arctic Refuge as a National Monument.

Big corporate funders bet millions on this year’s election and won — and will look to cash in their chips starting in January with the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives.