TEXACO OIL WASTE PIT IN THE AMAZON

A waste pit filled with crude oil left by Texaco drilling operations years earlier lies in a jungle clearing near the Amazonian town of Sacha, Ecuador, October 21, 2003, on the day of the start of a landmark trial where Ecuadoran Indians are seeking to force ChevronTexaco to clean up the environmental contamination left behind from Texaco’s operations. The trial, being held in the town of Lago Agrio, Ecuador, will determine whether CheronTexaco has to clean up the waste in the Amazon. REUTERS/Lou Dematteis