But, for as long as the world continues to use oil, there will be steep costs born by those communities that live and work at the points of oil exploration, production, transport, refining, selling and disposal. Far too often, these costs are unnoticed and unheeded by any outside of those immediate communities who are then left to do battle against the wealthiest most powerful corporations on the planet in virtual isolation and often with little success. All of us, however, pay for the subsequent wars, gross human rights abuses, pollution, climate destruction, economic injustice, and political inequality when these local communities lose.

Riding on a 25% increase in revenues, in 2009, Chevron moved from the sixth to the fifth largest global corporation in the world. Only 36 countries on the planet had GDPs larger than Chevron's $263 billion in 2008 revenues. Chevron is the largest corporation in California, the second-largest U.S. oil corporation and the third-largest corporation in the nation.

But while Chevron is one of the world's most powerful corporations, it is also the target of one of the most organized resistance movements in the world. Global Exchange is a proud member of this movement.

By expanding, strengthening, and highlighting this movement, we can build more allies and create a powerful advocacy base for real policy changes, such that, for as long as we continue to use oil, its operations will be as clean, safe, humane, and equitable as possible. We will also help to put a human face on the true cost of oil, thereby strengthening the movement working to move us away from oil as an energy source altogether.

We are proud to announce that Antonia Juhasz joined Global Exchange as Director of our new Chevron Program on July 15. Antonia is the lead author and editor of The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report released by Global Exchange and several other organizations in May 2009 at Chevron's annual shareholder meeting in San Ramon, CA. She is the author of The Tyranny of Oil: the World's Most Powerful Industry--And What We Must Do To Stop It (HarperCollins 2008) and The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time (HarperCollins 2006). Check back here for more information about, and how to get involved in, The Chevron Program in the coming weeks.

Read Antonia's latest Op-Ed in the San Francisco Chronicle,
Chevron owes more to Richmond and California

Contact Antonia:
antonia@globalexchange.org
415.255.7296 x 250