If You Can't Boycott BP, Then Help the Animals

Many have decided not to purchase British Petroleum (BP) products as a way to punish the company for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Many may not realize just how many products BP has hand in.

The following is a list of BP products and stores.

ampm stores on the west coast, ARCO stores in the west and Amoco Ultimate are some of the fuel stores and fuels offered by BP.

Here is a product you may not realize is made by BP.

Castrol motor oil.

There is also Air BP that provides aviation fuel to over 600 locations globally.

ARCO Aluminum, Inc. is a division of BP North America.

It is a premier supplier of rolled can sheet.

In other words, the stuff beer and pop cans are made of.

Then there is Aromatics and Acetyls.

There products include purified terephthalic acid which is used in making sleeveless polyester shirts.

It is also found in plastic containers used for beverages, food, electronics, carpets and audio and video tapes as well as photographic films and labels.

Another product made by the division is acetic acid which can be found in jars of pickled onions and other food packaging.

BP also has a hand in the asphalt industry so the roads you travel may be there in part because of BP.

Then there is the crude oil products including Thunder Horse which is described as a new medium gravity crude from the Gulf of Mexico. Exxon owns 25 percent of this project.

Then there are the BP franchises which includes Wild Bean Cafe. The cafe is described as a on-the-go cafe offering inventive sandwiches, baked goods and coffee.

After reviewing the complete list of BP products I think it becomes clear that the consumer may not be able to avoid all BP products.

However the consumer may be able to help some of the wildlife affected by the oil spill by supporting Dawn dish soap.

Workers are using the soap to help clean birds covered in oil.

Updates on their progress can be found at www.dawnsaveswildlife.com

Other ways to help the wildlife include texting WILDLIFE to 20222. This will donate $10 to the National Wildlife Federation.

NWF says the money donated to the gulf oil spill restoration fund will go toward supporting NWF's immediate response and longer term on-the-ground work to safeguard wildlife affected by the tragedy.

The International Bird Rescue Research Center, which picks up oiled birds, cleans and rehabilitates them, allows individuals to donate or adopt a bird.

Adopting a pelican, for example, costs $200, which will go to the cost of raising and eventually releasing the bird.