BP Oil Spill: Facebook Group Plans Worldwide Protest Today
A group on Facebook has proclaimed today “Worldwide BP Protest Day” and says protests have been confirmed in at least 52 cities and five continents. Already under pressure, BP has gotten more heat after news yesterday that the rate of oil flow spilling into the Gulf of Mexico is likely double previous estimates. (Read more here.)
“Let the world know YOU care. Give back to a world that has given so much to you. We need to let BP know we are NOT OK with what they are putting in our oceans,”
says a flier on the group’s Facebook page.
The group also mentions the BP boycott that has gained some traction on Facebook and other places.
“Think global. Protest local!”
says the group.
But a boycott of gas stations wouldn’t necessarily hurt BP, as the protesters may hope. It would likely hurt local small business owners, their families and communities much more than BP, many say, because BP, a global corporation, would simply sell the oil other places; whereas, local station owners in the U.S. or Britain could go out of business.
Another important point is made in an Associated Press article by Seth Borenstein “Boycott Big Oil? Prepare to give up your lifestyle.”
This article points out the fact that boycotting big oil isn’t as simple as giving up driving or boycotting a gas station, noting that oil, in the form of petrochemicals, is literally in everything, from our shampoo and deodorant to bicycle tires and sneakers. Furniture, carpeting, nearly everything made out of plastic, insulation, clothing, lipstick, vitamin capsules, toothpaste, shaving cream, and glue is made out of materials that come from hydrocarbons. Petrochemicals are even in our bloodstreams, the article notes.
As the AP article indicates, it’s much easier to put together a flier, sign or Facebook group (using a laptop that’s made out of petroleum products and powered by fossil fuels) – even drive to a protest (using gasoline) – than it is for anyone to give up their modern lifestyles.
