When are people gonna start protesting the oil spill?

[peopleb4money]

I'd like to see people get more politically active to end the oil crisis. It keeps poluting the water, and I think if it doesn't end very soon, we'll have irreversible consequences. This can't be good. I'm just waiting for people to rise up and put an end to this. This should wake everyone up to the fact that we need to change the way transportations done. What's gonna happen when the OPEC nations decide to cut off our oil because dwindling supplies? Everyone needs to push the government and the makets hard for a switch over to electric cars and gas powered semi fleets. If we don't, then when we run out, were going to have a situation where refugees crowd into cities because of the collapse of our infrastructure which is highly dependent on oil. The right wing media has a tactic of making the environmental movement look as extreme and fringe as possible. They make sure to give plenty exposure to tree spikers and people like that as much as possible. They always focus on the back to the earth crowd, but the truth of the matter is that most environmentalists want to prevent the dark ages from happening by finding a way of doing business that will sustain out modern lifestyle. I'm just surprised people aren't in the streets picketing everywhere over this. Its going to have dire effects on the ecology and fishing industry in the area. I really doubt this will go away, but people have no problem just standing by while oil continues to flow into the gulf as if the scientists will be able to make it all better after its done spilling out. They won't. They need to cap it off or something. Also, how's this going to make us look to the international community. The incompetence and visual presence of instability will only make America look bad to the international community. It'll have economic repercussions in more ways than people realize. I wish everyone was ready to rise up in protest and defend the future. We also need to make a push, in the long run, to perfect breeder reactors, solar cells, wind generators, clean coal, something affordable to power our transportation besides oil. I wish the environmentalists could get conservatives involved somehow too. The more people, the better. Protesting and activism works, despite what some may say say. It got the Civil Rights Amendments Act passed. I'm ready to do something.

[Richardo]

1. "I'm just waiting for people to rise up and put an end to this. "

DU's motto.

[realisticphish]

3. +1

[NoPasaran]

4. It's already led to a shortage of paragraphs

[peopleb4money]

12. yah

Yah, my bad. I should have put paragraphs in it. You're right.

[Oregone]

2. Maybe the oil will leave

[elocs]

5. Say what you will about the Baby Boomers and during the 60s and 70s:

they sure as hell knew how to massively and effectively protest to get change and make their voices heard. They helped to change this country. If we had those kinds of protests today we would see some big and real changes.

[Oregone]

6. Then they got mortgages and jobs to pay em down.

[elocs]

7. Sure, but that doesn't erase or negate what they accomplished.

Evidently for all the ranting and complaining, people are too comfortable and complacent today.

[peopleb4money]

14. civil rights,, ending nuclear testing, ending Vietnam, Free Speech Movement, etc

[snot]

22. Not quite that simple. In the old days, the media actually covered such protests

and the coverage wasn't so slanted against progressive positions.

[Patchuli]

8. We started weeks ago!

And will again on July 10. I hope you can access Facebook? http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Worldwide-BP-Protest-Day-July-10-2010/130251936998581

[peopleb4money]

13. Ill check it out. Thanks for the link

[stray cat]

9. Even if the oil sees a protest I don't think it will change its mind

and stop flowing....

[peopleb4money]

15. protesting

It may be like AIDS. There might not be any cure for it at all, but just in case this is a matter of apathy from BP, people should let their voice be known. Just in case they're not moving to real solutions because it'll be too expensive for them, we should be protesting. BP should be put out of business, these crooks shouldn't be allowed access to our natural resources, and oil on public land should be nationalized. Picketing is just a grass roots propaganda effort. The corporate run media broadcasts their agenda through basic cable, and environmentalists/progressives/etc need to make their agenda known through creating a greater public presence for itself. I use the term agenda and propaganda in the most neutral sense too, because, imho, any conscious effort to change public opinion is propaganda and entails an agenda. People might as well be honest enough to admit it.

It depends on how the protest is done on whether its going to change anything or not. Simply shouting bumper sticker slogans won't get anything accomplished, but having articulate, public speakers in front of crowds giving well reasoned arguments and presentations for why we should push the government to take more action in stopping this spill and preventing future spills could lead to some good changes. In today's world we don't need to rely on mainstream media exposure as much. We can just upload videos on youtube. However, getting some mention and coverage on CNN or Fox News wouldn't hurt. They might even try to vilify us, but the fact that their audience can look up youtube vids to actually see what environmental activists actually stand for might actually compel some of them to join in the fight. Using free speech at a grass roots level has worked affectively in the past, and it still can.

Of course, the mainstream media might just focus all their attention on the fringe to marginalize all environmental activism. That's what Fox News does best. They make the center-left look extreme. That's a possibility. If people are too lazy to fact check coverage from cable news with internet blogs, youtube and other sources in general, then America will never wake up to anything. I'm more optimistic than that though because of past victories from activists in the 60's and 70's.

[peopleb4money]

10. yah

I mean, I don't want to sound like I'm trying to sound grandiose or like I'm wanting one of those "I will saver the world" ego-trips. I'm just saying I think this is a big catastrophe. I just don't know. However, if we make it through this, I wanna make sure nothing like this happens again. I haven't studied geology, but this might be one of those extinction events, maybe past ecosystems collapsed from oil rupturing from volcanoes and stuff. I just wanna go down swinging in a way that doesn't involve nuking each other.

[peopleb4money]

11. June 12th

Yah, I saw a posting for the a June 12th march. I didn't mean to undermine any efforts there. I wish I could have made it. I'll try going to a demonstration that's close by. I hope this gets bigger and more people start protesting.

[eridani]

16. Hands Accross the Sands

Join Hands on June 26th
Hi Friends!

While this is an off-topic blast, I hope you will forgive me. With the current oil-brewing disaster in the Gulf and the fact that I live in South Florida, I feel I must do something about it. So I have given my full support to any and all volunteer efforts and rallys for new clean energy. Hands Across the Sand is one of them. This is a nationwide pro-active and positive event taking place in almost every State in America this coming Saturday - June 26th.

IS THERE AN EVENT IN YOUR STATE AND NEAR YOU? http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/

Here is a live webcam from our beautiful beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida! I can not imagine tar and oil and dying wildlife covering our beaches here in Florida or the pain our Gulf Coast neighbors must be experiencing. Please join me and tens of thousands of others across the nation on 6-26-2010 to join hands to say NO to Oil and YES to Clean Energy. Will you be one of them?

FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH LIVE WEBCAM: http://www.elboroom.com/page/roof-cam

RSVP FOR THE "HANDS ACROSS THE SAND" FORT LAUDERDALE FLORIDA EVENT HERE:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125762130788208


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is Hands Across The Sand?

Main Website http://www.HandsAcrosstheSand.com/

Hands Across the Sand is a movement made of people of all walks of life and crosses political affiliations. This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife, and fishing industry. Let us share our knowledge, energies and passion for protecting all of the above from the devastating effects of oil drilling.

A Message To The World

Hands Across the Sand is now international. Any person in any country may plan events on this website. This is a peaceful gathering of the people of the world. Planning an event is as simple as this:

* Go to your beach on June 26 at 11 AM in your time zone.
* Form lines in the sand and at 12:00, join hands.

The image is powerful, the message is simple. NO to Offshore Oil Drilling, YES to Clean Energy.


The Movement Started In Florida

In Florida on Saturday, February 13, 2010, a statewide gathering against offshore oil drilling occurred. Thousands of Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 beaches joined hands to protest the efforts by the Florida Legislature and the US Congress to lift the ban on oil drilling in the near and off shores of Florida. Florida’s Hands Across The Sand event was the largest gathering in the history of Florida united against oil drilling. Thousands joined hands from Jacksonville to Miami Beach and Key West to Pensacola Beach, each against oil drilling in Florida’s waters.

Mission Statement

1. To organize a national movement to oppose offshore oil drilling and champion clean energy and renewables. These gatherings will bring thousands of American citizens to our beaches and cities and will draw metaphorical and actual lines in the sand; human lines in the sand against the threat oil drilling poses to America’s coastal economies and marine environment.

2. To convince our State Legislators, Governors, Congress and President Obama to stop the expansion of offshore oil drilling and to adopt policies encouraging clean and renewable energy sources. America needs legislation that creates tax incentives and subsidies to encourage the growth of clean energy and renewable industries for America’s future.


An Opportunity of National Importance

Now is the time for America and our leaders to join hands and steer our country’s energy policy away from our dependence on fossil fuels and into the light of clean energy and renewables.

Join hands with us and draw a line in the sand against offshore oil drilling.

[saras]

17. Effective protest?

I started protesting in the seventies by NOT GETTING A CAR (yes, and paying the price my whole life for it. Don't want to pay? Waah! Me neither.) You can also start removing unnecessary plastic from your life - don't get anal about what you can't control, but change what you can. In addition, you can disattach yourself from our culture of disposability, and attempt to "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without", or merely select well-made, long-lasting items where possible. (Note that doing this controls to some extent what activities you will indulge in - some things just can't be done without expensive toxic byproducts, and so should be given up.)

But going to a free-speech zone to get harassed by police and have mystery diseases and weapons tested on you - no thanks. It doesn't seem useful, productive behavior.

The other protest activity that could be useful, but Americans seem terrified of and repulsed by, is the general strike. If nobody who worked for any BP-related company went into work for a week, BP would most certainly notice. But this takes majority agreement, which is anathema to Americans.

And maybe liberals don't get anywhere together because they really aren't trying for the same goals. I have no interest whatsoever in replacing oil with alternative fuels. I see the increasing cost of oil as a way to get us off the addiction to energy consumption and its attendant attitudes, which are the REAL source of the problem. What makes anyone think that if we keep the same systems but switch to other energy sources that the same companies won't pollute and abuse in the same way? A thousand oil leaks in the Gulf? How about a thousand leaks of radioactive waste in your home state? They're just little ones. And what happens when the bean-counters reshape the battery industry?

[DakotaBlue75]

18. Oil & Congress don't Mix! (campaign). Join today.

Join this group on facebook:

"Oil & Congress Don't Mix! Cut off the flow of campaign contributions."

Actions are being planned nationally to make a real difference. Everyone will be given instructions to contribute locally.

[MorpheusX]

19. We have to be proactive - Why don't we just fix the real problem.

Why do we wait until something bad happens then we decide to do something. Why don't we just fix the real problem. Is that to much common sense.

Read “Common Sense 3.1” at ( Http://revolution2.osixs.org/ )

FIGHT THE CAUSE - NOT THE SYMPTOM

[knownothing]

20. Agreed, let's fix the real problem...

which is our oil addiction! Please join America for energy alternatives on facebook, if you would. I want to try and set up something to educate people about oil and our need to get away from it, so that then we can get pressure on our representatives to get away from it.

[AlabamaLibrul]

21. The day it really, truly affects them.

I'm surprised, shocked even, that prominent Republicans on the local level here (who are mostly sane, incorrect in their "old conservative" ideology and not teabaggers) are tearing BP a new one.

The outrage will trickle up when people can't enjoy their beach house, buy seafood at a reasonable price or we start to have more and more large oil spills *in America*.

Memories fade quickly. Remember Prince William Sound? Most could care less these days.