Spill, Baby, Spill (LOOK IN THE MIRROR)

From this morning's NY Times:

The latest effort to contain the oil spill that has poured millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico encountered a setback 5,000 feet underwater, officials said Saturday, meaning oil will continue gushing into the ocean for at least several more days, and possibly months.

This will be the worst man-made environmental disaster of my lifetime. My prayer is that it is never exceeded in anyone's lifetime.

Poisoned water will spread into the Gulf Stream, up the Atlantic seaboard, across the ocean. We have mainlined an overdose.

This is so sad; when I think of marine life, of generations future, of the vanity, selfishness and greed of our human race ... my throat clamps up and my heart physically hurts.

The oil companies do not have bottom-line responsibility here; there would be no oil industry without our demand for petroleum products. Do not point at BP and Big Oil. Let's each of us, instead, look in the mirror and NOTICE OUR OWN ADDICTION ...

• every time we start up a fossil-fuel-fired engine.
  
• every time we place a small order on the internet and, like pathetically stupid royalty, have a truck burn fuel to deliver, for our convenience, a small box directly to our doorstep
  
• every time we order take-out food that arrives in plastic containers
  
• every time we purchase shampoo, hand cream, laundry soap, bottled water, children's toys, household items that are contained in plastic.
  
• every time we use a disposable plastic pen (or, worse, throw away a pen for which we could, instead, purchase a refill) or lighter.
  
• every time we purchase or don clothing made with polyester fiber
  

A quick web search for "petroleum-derived products" turns up this page from Ranken Energy Corporation, an oil exploration company. "A partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of 6000 items)":

One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest (over half) is used to make things like...

Solvents	Diesel fuel	Motor Oil	Bearing Grease
Ink	Floor Wax	Ballpoint Pens	Football Cleats
Upholstery	Sweaters	Boats	Insecticides
Bicycle Tires	Sports Car Bodies	Nail Polish	Fishing lures
Dresses	Tires	Golf Bags	Perfumes
Cassettes	Dishwasher parts	Tool Boxes	Shoe Polish
Motorcycle Helmet	Caulking	Petroleum Jelly	Transparent Tape
CD Player	Faucet Washers	Antiseptics	Clothesline
Curtains	Food Preservatives	Basketballs	Soap
Vitamin Capsules	Antihistamines	Purses	Shoes
Dashboards	Cortisone	Deodorant	Footballs
Putty	Dyes	Panty Hose	Refrigerant
Percolators	Life Jackets	Rubbing Alcohol	Linings
Skis	TV Cabinets	Shag Rugs	Electrician's Tape
Tool Racks	Car Battery Cases	Epoxy	Paint
Mops	Slacks	Insect Repellent	Oil Filters
Umbrellas	Yarn	Fertilizers	Hair Coloring
Roofing	Toilet Seats	Fishing Rods	Lipstick
Denture Adhesive	Linoleum	Ice Cube Trays	Synthetic Rubber
Speakers	Plastic Wood	Electric Blankets	Glycerin
Tennis Rackets	Rubber Cement	Fishing Boots	Dice

I suggest we shock ourselves about how Green we really are NOT compared to how Green we like to think we are, by studying this entire list.

I suggest that any one of us who does nothing to protest ocean-floor drilling has a barrel of spilled oil on our conscience.

And I suggest we look in the mirror, and assess our own role in using, and disposing, thoughtlessly and often needlessly, the products derived from oil drilling. Every time we use something. Every time we toss something in the trash. Daily. Every minute. Every time.