Resist call to passivity from Big Oil

A plume of news stories has started to seep into the media, telling us that we can't make a difference. They say: you can't avoid oil and petrochemicals. You can't fight BP at the pump. Nonsense.

It's easy to conserve and don't let the oil industry tell you otherwise. Replace the "fast-food milkshake ... with a petrochemical-based thickener" with one made from real local milk and ice cream. Cook dried beans at home instead of driving out to McBurger for beef. Eat local produce. Drink tap water, not bottled water. Carpool. Turn off your motor when your car isn't moving. Quit buying things you don't need. Bring cloth grocery bags. Borrow or buy used when you can. Oil is valuable and finite, so save it for products we really need, like medicine and even shoes.

I know that even people who talk the environmental talk often don't want to walk the walk ... and I don't mean just Al Gore. I used to be a member of district and state political committees that met several times a year. Almost no one carpooled to these events. We had a chance to save oil and to increase community (or network, if you prefer). But instead we chose convenience.

Oil-covered beaches and birds are inconvenient. Poisoned shrimp and oysters are inconvenient. Global warming is very inconvenient. Make a change to today to reduce the demand for oil. You can make a difference.