Revenge on BP

From here in my little Connecticut life, I have no idea what to do about the recent oil spill down south. I am, however, very disturbed that it is still happening. Sure the leak has been deterred, but it's still hundreds of thousands of gallons a day, and it's been happening since April 20th! This was before my baby was born a month and a half ago...

Yesterday my family decided to go on a mostly random road trip adventure. Along the way we stopped at a gas station Xtra Mart for some beverages. Of course right after this stop we had to make another, because of the Law of Family Trips that says no one can use the bathroom until it is inconvenient. We pulled over at a BP.

I am happy to report that the first station was full of petrol-happy Americans pumping away, while the BP station hosted only one customer, a bearded man with a silver SUV. I guess he hadn't heard the news.

"Hey," I said to my husband, "We're here in a BP parking lot. We should seek our revenge!"

In the 1990s the British global energy company was fined for dumping hazardous wastes in Alaska. Since then there was the refinery explosion in Texas City, the Prudhoe Bay oil spill in Alaska, and several worker fatalities from faulty equipment. How could a company with such a record of disregard for safety have been allowed to tamper with our nation's natural resources for so long?

The answer is, as it so often is, Money. BP is the third largest energy company in the world. It is so big that no individual person can be blamed for its biggest mistakes, and clemency can be bought with cash and good lawyers.

But then, why didn't we boycott them sooner? Because we are busy. We have our lives to live, plenty of things vying for our attention. (Like right now I have to take a break from typing because the baby's begun to fuss.) There are people to see, and especially places to go, go, go... I think of the man in the SUV. That was me two months ago (minus the beard... and the SUV) before I knew that BP was evil.

But where do such companies/ evils get their money/ power? From us, either directly or through our government's distribution of tax dollars.

So there in the BP parking lot yesterday we left a dirty diaper (in the trash can). I'm not sure what kind of revenge this serves: towards BP or towards ourselves, but hey, there it is.