Welcome to Jennie of the Jungle!

After an 18 year struggle against the devastation brought on by Chevron in the Ecuadorian Amazon (see previous blog here ), Chevron has FINALLY been found guilty, and has been ordered to pay over 8 million dollars to take responsibility and clean up their mess. Of course, they are appealing this decision. Why they do not want to help these native people who are suffering and have been suffering for so long I will never understand. They have the means and it is their decisions that have turned the drinking water a tarry black, polluted the land and made it unfit for necessary farm animals to live on, given the village kids cancer, and poisoned the babies. Here's what you can do to help in this case. Send an email to the CEO of Chevron by clicking here . The email is pre-filled and all you have to do is enter your name at the bottom. You can also adopt a Chevron employee to get your voice heard by clicking here . It's a small victory for Ecuador and the native peoples of Amazonia...

My friend Jonny represents the indigenous arctic Inupiat people of Alaska in their struggle against oil companies who want to drill on their land and disrupt their habitat and lifestyle, and has spent some time there visiting and learning their culture, as well as taking part in some of their daily rituals. I'm going to post my favorite of Jonny's blogs from his trip to the arctic in November of 2008, called "The less selfish life." You can read Jonny's blog at http://jonnyarctic.blogspot.com/ . The Less Selfish Life So, can we unlearn selfishness? I honestly don't know, but I think that's why living here is such a challenge. Quite simply, it is very difficult to live in this Arctic region if you are selfish. We thus have a choice: change or leave. And yet here we cling. Me, representing this Inupiat Eskimo community and my dedicated family. I am rightfully an outsider to the people here. This is not my place, as I am constantly reminded, but for some...