Jungle Fumble: A brief history of and inside look at the Ecuador Lawsuit against Texaco/Chevron

Written by David L Russell, PE, and Dr. Charles Calmbacher, CIH
Global Environmental Operations, Inc.

This essay recounts their involvement in the Ecuador lawsuit against Texaco/Chevron over Amazon rainforest contamination. Hired in 2003 to assess cleanup costs, Russell and Calmbacher produced a $6.1 billion estimate based on unverified assumptions—a "SWAG" (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) that helped secure a $9.5 billion judgment. However, soil samples revealed the primary toxins were missing, and ongoing contamination came from Petro Ecuador, not Chevron. The case unraveled when Chevron exposed massive fraud.