************FUCK YOU BP*****************

Its Tuesday night, but I'm fired up about this, so it can't wait till Friday. I promise Friday's post will be back to pointless observations and repressed anger.

Today marks the 50th day since a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded, causing 11 deaths, 17 injuries and a massive hole in an underwater wellhead to gush an estimated 100,000 barrels (4,200,000 US gallons) A DAY into the Gulf water and its surrounding shores. Clean up attempts by BP have been embarrassing at best, with no genuine concern or urgency in the face of what marine biologists and economic analysts are calling an "ecological and economic disaster whose long term effects will take decades to play out in full". Decades. Thats absolutely insane.

BP's main focus, no surprise here, seems to be maintaining a safe bottom line and ensuring the shareholders aren't completely shitting their pants, while feigning enough interest and activity to not be deemed complete assholes and haters of Mother Earth. The only thing BP CEO Tony Hayward seems to be good at is propagating ridiculously insensitive and unintelligent misinformation. A few of his recent gems:

1)"We're sorry for the massive disruption it's caused to their lives," Hayward said. "There's no one who wants this thing over more than I do, I'd like my life back"
2)"The oil is on the surface," Hayward said. "There aren't any plumes."-This is a lie
3)"I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to have been very, very modest"
4)And my favorite, an excerpt from an address to the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, on 12 May, 2009. In it he talks about how the culture at BP needed to change by saying:

"We had too many people working to save the world..."

I know you are all smart enough to not buy the bullshit BP and its executives are trying to feed the American public and the world. The Gulf, all it's inhabitants--humans, fish, dolphins, seabirds, whales, coral, krill, seaweed, shrimp, sharks etc, the biology of the ocean, the surrounding affected coastline, the tourism trade, the fishing trade, and anyone who is unfortunate enough to have to witness their homes and the places they love being destroyed, are all very real. No matter how far removed you may be from the actual problem.



So, what can you do?

* Do not purchase gas or any other products from BP gas stations

* Find legitimate businesses and people to donate to in and around the Gulf, if donating $$$ is your thing. Do not assume that your donation to NWF will go directly to the people and areas in most need. Talk to any friends or family that live in the affected areas to find local businesses or grass roots organizations you can cut a check to.

* On a related note, if you want to donate your time, again, find grass roots organizations and local businesses to help. You will be making an immediate difference.

* Do not purchase BP stock in the hopes of making a profit once the dust settles and you bought all your shares for $2 a piece... aren't you clever?! I shouldn't even have to tell you how big of a douche bag doing this makes a person, but I will: Don't do it. You are a parasite if you do, and deserve whatever Karmic equivalent comes flying your way.

*Talk to your senators about passing legislation that works towards cleaner and safer energy options. Send emails, write letters, make phone calls. (You can find out how to contact your state senators on any search engine.)

* Don't forget. This thing is going to be playing out for years. It is so easy to forget about it once it stops making the nightly news, but try hard not to. Help dispel misinformation and help keep this in the forefront of everyone's minds.



I'll leave you with some images to look through. Its harder to turn a blind eye after witnessing pictures from the front lines.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/louisiana-oil-spill-2010_n_558287.html