Three years of documenting the international legal battle over who is responsible for more than three decades of major environmental devastation in the rainforest.

Interview by Aubrey Ann Parker
Circle of Blue

Thirty-thousand rainforest dwellers have taken on one of the largest companies in the world, Chevron, for allegedly having polluted nearly 2,000 square miles of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The locals say 50 years of drilling have caused high rates of cancer in their communities; Chevron insists that the inflated illness rates are due to poor sanitation. Chevron inherited the David and Goliath lawsuit — it’s worth $US 27 billion — when it bought Texaco in 2001.

Circle of Blue reporter Aubrey Ann Parker spoke with Joe Berlinger at the Traverse City Film Festival about his latest film, Crude. Three years in the making, Crude documents the rising international support for this environmental issue as the lead attorney — a man from the affected area in the Amazon — speaks at Live Earth, graces the cover of Vanity Fair, and wins a Hero Award from CNN… Read complete article and listen to the podcast at Circle of Blue.