Two serious pollution cases at opposite ends of the size spectrum hit the news today in San Francisco. Last night an elegant gathering at the Opera House saw two Ecuadorian "activists" awarded $150,000 apiece for the Goldman Environmental Prize. Lawyer Pablo Fajardo Mendoza and community organizer Luis Yanza have been suing Chevron over the dumping of oil-contaminated water into pits in the upper Amazon.Another opportunity for wealthy San Franciscans to congratulate themselves on their care for the environment, dress up, and have a good time excoriating evil corporations. But this story is bit complicated, and Chevron is fighting back. Tyche Henricks of the San Francisco Chronicle reports:The roots of the lawsuit against Chevron - in which Yanza organized thousands of plaintiffs and Fajardo is a lead attorney - date back to 1964, when Texaco began pumping oil in a remote corner of northern Ecuador, in a partnership with Petroecuador, the state oil company. The suit...(Read Full Post)