This is the Amazon Rain forest where the waters flow toward the greatest river on earth and not far below this scene, there is an enormous wealth of oil.
Beginning in the 1960's, Texaco came to northeastern Ecuador to tap into one of the largest oil reserves in the Americas.

Texaco was a partner with Ecuador's national oil company, Petroecuador. And over 23 years, Texaco pumped out one and a half billion barrels of oil. Hundreds of wells were drilled. And at each well site, pits were dug to hold toxic oil waste that comes up during drilling.

Generally two or three pits were carved out near the well site. Trouble is, when Texaco finished its drilling, the waste pits were abandoned by the hundreds and for decades.

He says the pollution leaked into his water well.

"It's a disgrace. They treated Ecuador like a trash heap."

Doug Beltman worked for the EPA on Superfund sites in the U.S.

He's now the scientific expert for the people suing Chevron.

"Are you saying that Texaco never could have gotten away with this in the United States?" Pelley asked.

"Oh, absolutely not," Beltman replied. "It wouldn't have happened in the United States. And if it had happened, they wouldn't have gotten away with leaving it here for 30 years."

In Texas, for example, pits like this are supposed to be temporary, isolated from fresh water, and soon after emptied and backfilled. But in Ecuador this pit has been there for 25 years and we found it's actually designed to overflow into streams.

"They put these pipes in the side. So that as it rains, it fills up with water, contaminated water, it just dumps out into the jungle," Beltman explained.

"Well, it rains here in the rainforest all the time, so there's water pouring out of it now. And if you smell the water, you can clearly smell the oil pollution in it. Runs right down the ravine, where you are, and right down into the stream, not 50 yards down that way," Pelley observed.

When we stirred the bottom, oil floated to the top.

Texaco left Ecuador in 1992 and today, Texaco's owner, Chevron says the pollution is now the responsibility of Petroecuador, Texaco's former partner. That dispute is the heart of the lawsuit.
[Nextpage重点词汇]
Wealth: 丰富,大量[(+of)]
The dictionary gives us a wealth of phrases and sentences to illustrate meaning.
这本词典给了我们许多说明词义的短语和句子。

Tap into:利用，开发，发掘(已有的资源)

Come up: 发生；出现：
I shall write to you if anything comes up.
如果发生了什么事情我将写信告诉你。

Carve
及物动词 vt.
1. 刻,雕刻
The statue was carved out of marble.
那雕像是用大理石雕刻的。
2. 切开;切(肉菜)[O1]
He carved me a piece of meat.
他切了一块肉给我。
3. 开创(事业等);开拓[(+out)]
They carved out an orchard where there was wild grass.
他们在曾是野草丛生的地方开辟了果园。

不及物动词 vi.
1. 做雕刻工作
2. 切开肉

Leak
及物动词 vt.
1. 使渗漏
The car is leaking oil.
这汽车在漏油。
2. 泄漏(秘密等)[(+out/to)]
He denied that he had leaked the news to the press.
他否认曾将这则消息泄漏给新闻界。

不及物动词 vi.
1. 漏,渗[(+out)]
The faucet is leaking.
水龙头在漏水。
2. (消息等)泄漏出去[(+out)]
Your secret appears to have leaked out.
看来你的秘密已经泄漏出去了。

Get away with sth: 侥幸逃脱
Do you think you can get away with it?
你认为你能逃避责罚吗?
How did she get away with cheating?
她是怎么作弊成功的?