What were the real costs of oil extracted in Ecuador by Texaco (now Chevron) between 1965 and 1990...[and] by Shell in the Niger Delta since the 1970s? Both companies are...involved in court cases where the costs are assessed...in billions of dollars...[I]n the US...the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act...imposes retroactive obligations. Firms have to pay compensation for damages and they have to clean the pollution left behind...The increased social metabolism causes resource extraction conflicts, transport conflicts and waste disposal conflicts like those from water and oil pollution and gas flaring in Ecuador and Nigeria...Who is the owner of the atmosphere and the oceans as dumping places for carbon dioxide?....Will Chevron Texaco or Shell...pay at the end of the day a zero price for the pollution caused?