Includes bibliographical references (pages 365-388) and index.
Contents:
Chemical agency : of hydrocarbons and toxicity -- Exposure's orbitals : of epidemiology and calculation -- Alchemical deals : of contracts and their seepage -- Radical inspections : of sensorium as toxic proposition -- Plurivalent rendering : of prehension becoming precaution -- Bonding veridictum : of corporate capacity and technique.
Summary:
"The Small Matter of Suing Chevron tells the story of the infamously complex litigation revolving around the aftermath of Chevron's oil drilling in Ecuador's Lago Agrio area. Suzana Sawyer offers both an ethnographic account of the harms communities faced due to Chevron's dumping practices as well as a scientific analysis that reveals the unstable qualities of benzene, a known carcinogen found in gasoline. Sawyer provides a reformulation of chemical elements as "dynamic probabilities" instead of "definite stable substances," emphasizing that an element's behavior is contingent on its environment. Thus, she uses both literal and figurative interpretations of benzene and its properties as a way of discussing Chevron and the Lago Agrio region. The book's final section narrates and analyzes the court trials between Chevron and the nation of Ecuador. Ultimately, Sawyer highlights how business corporations, such as Chevron, claim to be morally superior agents while producing violent material consequences for communities and environments, and how these contradictions are exemplary of liberal democracy"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.