The Oil Spill - What can we do?

I went to the farmer's market on Friday and at one of the stalls they had this sign up:

It's 46 days and counting into the oil spill. . .do you really need another plastic bag?

Yow, good point, I thought, trying to shove all of my greens and strawberries into the two bags I had.  No matter how many reusable bags I bring with me every week, I always seem to end up with at least a couple of new plastic ones by the time I get home.

I went to the beach with my daughter the next day and saw a surprising amount of garbage washing up on the shore.  As we walked past plastic lids and Styrofoam cups on the sand, all I could think was, I'm grateful it's not oil.

Now it's been 50 days.  The pictures I've seen (as I'm sure many of you have too) of birds covered in oil, with only their eyes showing under all of the thick sludge is so tragic, and the knowledge that the spewing still hasn't stopped is, to me, criminal.

What can I do??  I'm not planning to go down to the gulf and help clean the birds, and I can't make the oil stop.  I know it's going to take a lot of money to clean this up, and while it's not a time for blame, I would much prefer to send my money to places like Haiti where there is no multi-billion dollar company that was responsible for the disaster (and doing something as dangerous as drilling a mile below sea-level) who could be paying for it.

Even if we stop off-shore drilling in our waters, as long as the demand for oil doesn't lessen, companies like BP will just find another place to drill. And very likely it will be in countries where the regulations are far less strict than they are here, and where a spill like this could be even more devastating.  Plus, that foreign oil will come to us on tankers which are far more likely to leak than oil rigs.  We need to find other ways of fulfilling our energy needs.  Reducing our own individual usage is a big part of it, and so is creating alternative energy sources that are gentle on us and our planet and that are actually available for us to use.

So after I didn't take that plastic bag on Friday, I did something else that took less than a minute.  I signed a petition.  MoveOn.org (an organization that I have no connection to other than being one of the 5 million members who receive their emails) is asking people to sign a petition to be sent to Obama that simply says:

"It's time for a bold plan to get America off of oil. Please learn from the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and take action to end the U.S. addiction to oil."

To sign it, click here.  (http://pol.moveon.org/nomoreoil/?rc=fb)

The Sierra Club is also sending messages to tell Obama to move beyond 
oil. (https://secure2.convio.net/sierra/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4435)

Tomorrow I'll send some money.  Probably to a group like Second Harvest Food Bank (http://no-hunger.org/).  They are the closest food bank to the spill and are responding to the increase in need for food as a result of spill-related unemployment.  

Perhaps some of you could provide other suggestions?  If so, please respond to this blog.  I'd love to know what else I can do and I'm sure others would too.

Warmly,

Laurie

Comments

[Mel]

Dawn soap has a campaign right now that is contributing money to the oil spill when you buy Dawn dish detergent. It is apparently what they use to clean off the animals covered in oil.

[DD]

Laurie - thanks for the motivation as always. Now that it is warm out my daughters, 3 and 5, and I go for walks. As we walk, they point out litter instead of flowers.... How sad a reflection on the example we set for our children in our daily environment. It broke my heart. Seeing the pictures of the oil covered birds also prompted some interesting dicussions with them.

[Jill Y]

Great ideas Laurie! In addition, we can also donate to the National Wildlife Federation and/or the National Audubon Society, as both of these organizations are working to save the sick and injured wildlife in the Gulf.