Last year, a bunch of Bay Area cyclists heeded Bill McKibben's call to tell oil companies that the climate math doesn't add up when it comes to their business plans of burning massive reserves of fossil fuels as quickly as possible.
Joining a diverse coalition of groups representing all the different people getting screwed by the oil giant's reckless greed (from the indigenous communities suffering the effects of the Chevron/Texaco's toxic ventures in the Ecuadorian Amazon to the company's Richmond, CA refinery neighbors demanding to stop being poisoned), several hundred concerned citizens gathered in- and outside the annual shareholder meeting at the company's San Ramon, CA Headquarters to demand that Chevron take responsibility for their pollution and become part of the solution.
The Bike the Math part of the action was not only a lot of fun (riding the Iron Horse Trail with a bunch of cool people with home-made flags waving from their bikes), but ended up being great visual support for the people giving Chevron's CEO Watson an earful inside the meeting. As I wrote afterwards, this may have been the only time I would ever be on the same page with Chevron CEO John Watson.
And I was right. Tired of being held to account by the powerful, almighty citizens lobby, the $26.2 billion a year underdog decided to escape the scrutiny this year by moving their annual shareholder meeting to George Bush's oasis in Midland, Texas, four hours from the nearest metropolitan airport.
Thing is, there wasn't even going to be that big of an action this year. After last year's big shebang it was going to be hard to keep that kind of intensity going. I, for one, wasn't planning on putting together another bike ride, and I hadn't heard of any big plans from the organizations that had mobilized the action last year.
Then Chevron tried to sneak out the back door and woke up a sleeping people giant. The canceled shareholder meeting turned into a Global Day of Action, endorsed by nearly 100 groups with protests in 12 countries around the world. Because really, it's not like Chevron has gotten any better over the last 12 months. The opposite, whether it's illegally fracking in Romania, refusing to take responsibility for a gas-rig explosion in Nigeria, or bribing witnesses during retaliatory RICO lawsuits, these guys are just not making many friends aside from the Donny Rico's of the world.
So as a result, this coming Wednesday, May 21, there are going to be actions throughout the worst-hit frontline communities from Nigeria to Ecuador, from Argentina to Romania. Right outside the Richmond refinery, Amazon Watch is joining with groups like APEN, the Richmond Progressive Alliance, the Sunflower Alliance, Greenaction, and over a dozen other groups to hold Chevron accountable for its crimes in Richmond and around the world.
Chevron Richmond Refinery Protest - Don't Buy Chevron!Then, last week, I got an email from remembrance about whether there was going to be another Bike the Math this year. She was asking on behalf of TheLittleOne who rode with us last year and is ready to do it again. That was pretty much all the motivation I needed, so I emailed the folks at Amazon Watch to add us to the list, told remembrance I'd meet Glen The Plumber and TLO at the Richmond BART station at 10am, and launched a Facebook event page.
All the info to join us below the toppled orange oil rig.