iReport — Chevron World HeadquartersSan Ramon, CAMay 25, 2011With  $20 billion in profits for 2010, and in the face of rising gas prices  contributing to crippling worldwide inflation, oil giant Chevron met  with opposition Wednesday as activists from across the globe converged  at their world headquarters to give shareholders and executives a  reality check about the ‘True Cost of Chevron’.Issues  ranged from the massive contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon to human  rights abuse in Burma and elsewhere. They have already been found  guilty in Ecuadorian Court of having caused pollution in the Amazon at a  devastating level, but Chevron’s lawyers continue to appeal and refuse  to take responsibility for their devastating environmental policies. As one Chevron executive states, “It sure doesn’t look good, Chevron vs. the Amazon villages”. Earlier  this week, advocates from the Rainforest Action Network in Northern  California unfurled a 50’ banner on the lower deck of the Richmond  Bridge blasting Chevron for it’s toxic legacy in the Amazon.Representatives  from Ecuador, Angola, Nigeria, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines,  The Tar Sands region of Canada, Alaska, the Kimberly Region of  Australia, Burma, and locals from Richmond, CA gathered to let Chevron  shareholders hear about the true cost of maintaining our addiction to  Chevron’s oil.  The folks from the Turtle Island Restoration Network  were even there to represent the oceans and it's creatures who cannot  speak for themselves.After  being banned from last year's meeting in Houston, 22 speakers were at  last able to address shareholders from the podium. It was heartbreaking  to hear stories of entire families lost to cancer, to see the tears and  suffering first hand. But Chevron has not yet agreed to pay the fines in  Ecuador, and it continues to make plans to expand its oil ventures to  other ecologically and culturally delicate areas.These  activists will not back down until their voices are heard...