As I mentioned previously, today has been declared a National Day of Action, Night of Mourning Against Offshore Drilling. From Rising Tide North America comes this call to action:
Once again the fossil fuel industry has brought crisis to the Gulf Coast. Devastation of untold proportions spews non-stop from BP’s oil well as politicians try to save face with empty promises, and oil companies preserve their profits with PR campaigns. This catastrophic spill comes on the heels of Obama’s plan to expand offshore drilling. The price of burning fossil fuels is too high. From combustion to extraction the oil industry poisons our communities, destroys ecosystems, and destabilizes the climate. Now is the time to stop offshore drilling dead in its tracks and drive another nail into the fossil fuel industry’s coffin.
People are encouraged to take action to demand:
-An immediate ban on all offshore drilling
-A rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels
-No bailouts for the oil industry. All recovery costs must be paid for by BP, Halliburton, Transocean and other implicated companies.
-The federal government must remove any caps on liability for oil companies.
-BP provides full compensation for impacted communities and small businesses.
-BP provides full funding for long-term ecosystem restoration for impacted areas.
-Oil companies operating in the Gulf fully fund restoration of coastal ecosystems damaged by canals, pipelines, and other industry activities.
Actions To Take:
Click here to go to Rising Tide’s National Day of Action page for more information on specific actions to take.
Click here to sign Avaaz.org’s petition against offshore drilling.
Click here if you live in Canada and want to sign a petition to protect our Pacific Coast from oil spills.
Also, if you are Canadian, please take the time to encourage our Senators to pass Bill C311, The Climate Accountability Act, as it makes its way through the Senate. The bill will have its first reading in the Senate near the end of May, only a few weeks away. Click here to get the Senators contact info. Keep in mind that Senators are not elected and therefore they have no constituents, so it’s best to contact as many of them as you can.
Take time to talk to people today about how offshore drilling needs to stop, and that there is a better way to power our economy and our cars than dirty fossil fuels. (Click here to read “We Have Better Choices Than Drill Baby Drill” if you want ideas about how to start the conversation).
Phone your elected representative and tell them it’s time to stop drilling and start focusing on a cleaner, greener way to get our fuel.
To get galvanized into action, check out this YouTube video filmed by local Brinkley Hutching and narrated by her father as they fly in his plane over the Gulf right to “ground zero” of the oil volcano that is erupting. When he says “The Gulf is bleeding”, you can see what he means!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8JHSAVYT0]
To read Brinkley’s heartbreaking account of the catastrophe, go to “A Local’s Account of the Deepwater Disaster”.
Great post Christine.
Thanks, Cheryl , always nice to hear from another climate champion! And thanks for reposting it!