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We appreciate Paul M. Barrett's story on the lawsuit in Ecuador ("Amazon Crusader. Corporate Pest. Fraud?" Features, Mar. 14-Mar. 20) and the staggering evidence of fraud that's come to light. As a federal magistrate judge in North Carolina wrote in ordering production of evidence from one of the plaintiffs' consultants, "[T]he court must believe that the concept of fraud is universal, and that what has blatantly occurred in this matter would in fact be considered fraud by any court."

The plaintiffs' lawyers resorted to fraud because the legitimate scientific evidence supports Chevron. The vast majority of deforestation in the region is due to government policy-driven colonization, logging, large-scale palm plantations, and other agriculture. Census data show that cancer rates are lower in the region than elsewhere in Ecuador. Bacterial contamination of the water due to lack of sanitation infrastructure is a much more acute health concern.