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On Exxon, BP, and the efficacy of my private protests

(Note: This appeared a few days back on dailykos, where it went the way of all my blogs there. I have amended it some. I tried to post it here a day or so back, and it seems to have gotten lost. My ineptitude knows no bounds.)

If memory serves, and it is an imperfect agent in these matters, I have purchased gas from an Exxon service station exactly twice since the Exxon Valdez began spewing oil all over Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989.

In both cases, I was at the end of a gas tank on sparsely populated roads, and without choices.

Just now I looked up at the sign where I was filling up my little red farm truck, and realized I was at my friendly neighborhood BP station.

Well, now...

For better and mostly worse, I'm a guy who can hold a grudge. A hair over 50 (or hairless and over 50), and I've never once had a McDonald's hamburger. Not once. Not ever. Now, in fairness and the interests of full disclosure, I have eaten their fake chicken nuggets a couple times in hours of need, and sometimes on long trips we get our daughter soft serve ice cones (only it's not ice cream, is it, and so they can't CALl it ice cream), or, occasionally, yogurt parfaits. But never a hamburger.

This is mostly because I was a picky eater as a child, and McD's wouldn't take all that garbage off their burger, or, if they did, it took so long as to be past embarrassing. Later it has come to be slightly more a political stand: Fast food is an international evil, and so I choose not to patronize this particular flagship brand.

See, I understand contemporary democracy principally as an exchange of monies. I mean, let's be honest: every political organization to which I "belong" (which is to say, every group which has my e-mail address) loves me only as a potential donor. None of them really care what my opinion on any given subject might be, so long as they can rile me enough to open my pocketbook. (Which they can't. Blood from stone, and all that.)

The democracy which matters in this country has to do with where you spend your money. Period. Even though, very occasionally, I choose to spend my money in a particularly gifted politician. I don't shop at WalMart. We live in a small town, and it's inconvenient not to shop at WalMart. But the presence of that store has ruined our local economy, and its new location has exacerbated watershed issues to the point where roads are in danger of blowing out.

I understand that if my private boycott were to spread, I would be endangering the jobs of people from this region who work at WalMart. I'm sorry about that, though the likelihood of such success seems remote. My belief is that if WalMart closed, other far better jobs would be created here.

Because Exxon was a party to ruining a beautiful shoreline, and did so with legendarily bad public relations, I refuse to shop at their stores. Makes my wife crazy. Truth is, I've never even been to Alaska, though I was friends growing up with enough guys who fished or crabbed or worked cannery gigs to pay for college up there that I think I have a few borrowed emotional memories of the place. Not to mention the photographs.

We've had our own issues this last month. Water, mostly, which doesn't agree much with books, and we happen to own an independent bookstore. But I am not unaware of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Here's what I think I know: I think that the Bush Administration went lax on safety regulations and BP got away with substandard (or at least not state of the art) equipment; I think that environmentalists have opposed this kind of drilling for years just because these kinds of events were inevitable; I think that our need for oil supersedes every other possible consideration (same with coal, and I live now in a coal state); I think BP is doing a tolerable job spinning the PR, that they're spending a gilded fortune trying to stop the flow; I'm pretty sure that the fisheries (and tourist industries) in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana are screwed for the foreseeable future. And I'm curious that in none of my very casual reading have I seen the word "Mexico" even mentioned. It's like this is our problem, and the hell with the rest of the world. (Which is the American way, I suppose.)

So there I am pouring BP gas into the little red truck. I don't go to that station often. It would be easy not to patronize it. I'm not even sure there is an Exxon station in town (though, doubtless, one or more of the indies is getting Exxon gas anyhow, and we just don't know about it), but there will be the next time we go down the road somewhere. I'm pretty sure the damage BP is doing in the Gulf of Mexico, whether or not it's legally culpable (or should be, even) is far worse, far more damaging to fragile ecosystems and even more fragile economies, than the damage the Valdez did to Prince William Sound.

Best I can tell from a quick hunt online, the gas station makes about ten cents a gallon (no matter the price of gasoline). Which is why they're in business to sell me chips and sodas and cold beer, none of which I buy from them. I'm also reliably informed that if BP weren't selling gas to its own branded stations, it'd be selling it elsewhere. That BP doesn't care, really, who sells their gas because somebody well. Probably the Kroger where I normally fill up is getting gas from both Exxon and BP, with my luck.

What, then? Do I boycott both? Let it go, just buy the cheapest gas I can find, like everybody else does?

There have to be consequences. I keep coming back to that.

Your opinion, then, is solicited. (But no matter what, I ain't eating that hamburger. If that's really what it is.)

Tags: alden, boycott, bp, environment, exxon, oil, walmart

Comment by doug heselgrave on May 27, 2010 at 1:08pm: A very timely post, Grant. Go online and watch Phillippe Cousteau's video of his twenty five foot dive through the oil slick and another story is revealed. Horrifying. We are truly going to Hell in that ol' handbasket. Thanks for sharing this one.

Comment by Adam Sheets on May 27, 2010 at 4:44pm: I think BP should be held responsible for this along with the Bush administration. Ever since the Supreme Court voted Bush in as "President" and brought his regime to power I have thought that he belonged in a prison cell and this is just another example of why. Put the CEO of BP in with him.

Comment by denton fabrics on May 28, 2010 at 7:35am: Let's not worry about BP, guys. According to a report on CNN yesterday, this cleanup is costing them $16 million/day but their profits are $66 million/day. BP will come out of this in fine shape.

(Yes, I'm being sarcastic.)

Comment by Bob "Stormcrow" Sanders on May 28, 2010 at 7:44am: I'm amazed how some businesses will risk the destruction of others for their own profits. BP cares little for fisheries or tourism. I saw a recent Frontline production, "Poisoned Waters", that detailed how Purdue is contributing to the death of Chesapeake Bay because they refuse to take responsibilty for all that chicken shit piling up in Maryland.
There's little we can do in this modern age of corporate fuedalism except try to get politicians to pay attention to alternatives. The Republicans are awful about that & Democrats are only slightly better. My enmity toward conservatives goes back 30 years when Carter's embryonic initiatives for alternative energy were aborted by Ron-boy Reagan. We've lost so much time.
Photovoltaics is a technology that exists NOW & should be deployed immediately on every available rooftop where appropriate - particularly large commercial buildings, warehouses, shopping malls.
And is there a genius engineer somewhere searching for the keys to hydrogen - an energy source that would be clean & inexhaustible?
In the meantime, the monster is loose in the Gulf & hurricane season is upon us. Yikes!

Comment by Adam Sheets on May 28, 2010 at 8:52am: Bob, I gotta agree with just about everything you said. Reagan was an absolutely horrible President, the Bushes were just a continuation of him, and today's Democrats lack the guts to do anything. Where did all the good politicians go, the type who actually worked for the people? They were bought out by the corporations.

Comment by Jack on May 28, 2010 at 11:14am: Add Venezuelan owned Citgo to your list.

My favorite comment about Bush was that he was born on third base, then stole second. Sure he was lax, but has the Obama admin been any better? Formerly against Gulf drilling, Obama recently became for it. The Obama admin has approved at least 7 more deepwater Gulf drilling applications SINCE this catastrophe began. Heads are rolling now, after the fact as is typical, but the problem is systemic and not unique to one party or the other; as a general statement, both are co-opted by campaign donations from special interests. The real world runs on oil and will for the foreseeable future, whether we like it of not, so we ought to accept that and oversee it effectively while prioritizing efforts to find alternative sources of energy. Would like to think our government is capable of both, but is it?

Comment by Grant Alden on May 28, 2010 at 12:53pm: I'm not sure there ever were politicians who had any power and were not bought and paid for by somebody.

Comment by Jim Nelson on May 28, 2010 at 9:46pm: Is there an ethical oil company? I don't think so. There are a few politicians who have not sold out completely, but the new documentary, "Casino Jack and the United States of Money," argues they are vastly outnumbered by the crooks in both parties. The whole system stinks. BP is no different than Shell, Chevron, or Exxon-Mobil. They're all multinational companies who will stop at nothing, murder included, to enrich themselves even more; while employing the best PR people money can buy to paint a "Green" image of themselves. So, if you boycott the big name oil companies and buy from some no name gas and go place, where do you think their gas comes from? It's the same people. A friend of mine used to be a HR person at Texaco. She said gas sharing was a routine event at all the refineries, big and small. So if a smaller company, like Diamond-Shamrock at the time, was running short, their trucks would show up at the Texaco refinery to fill up. It' a shell game, and generally the only person hurt by boycotting a particular brand is the little guy who owns or leases the station. Your boycott won't hurt BP even a tiny bit.

Comment by Daniel T on May 28, 2010 at 10:10pm: Grant, I believe we here at ND value your opinions much more than your potential as a donor. BP's arrogance and ignorance was unconscionable. Criminal? Morally, I think so. Legally they will most likely slip under the net with none of the responsible individuals seeing any charges filed. And this is a man made disaster, not the inevitable failure of technology. This rig had an exceptional safety record. BP, in general? Not so much. The technology was working just fine, until a few people made decisions based on expediency and short term loss. Not thinking how much they were going to lose in a worst case scenario. Small accidents and mistakes in the days prior to the blowout, which were reported by the little guys, went unrepaired and ignored by those in charge. When things go wrong you stop, think , and fix the problem before you continue. When the consequences of a worst case scenario could be a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, you need to think REALLY hard, act responsibly and forget about short term losses. Will BP pay? Sure. Will they pay enough? Doubtful. We are looking at huge marine life die offs. Wetland contamination. The marshes are going to soak this stuff right up. Breeding grounds will be lost. The gulf fishing industry could be lost for a very long time. Food supply contamination. Revenue from tourism, gone. Health problems for coastal residents? Unknown but most likely not good. This man made disaster could end up being the 2nd worst in history. Economically and ecologically, right behind Chernobyl. Are we surprised the regulatory agencies during the administration of two oilmen were lax to say the least? Corruption and incompetance are not unique to any one administration. And you're right Grant, it's all about the money. Since the first time man decided to barter for something his neighbor had, instead of taking it by force, money has been what mattered. Nothing wrong with money. Beats carrying a couple of pigs around waiting to trade for some furniture. Be it paper or coin, money represents the value of your efforts in relation to everyone elses needs or desires. What "you" think it's worth doesn't mean a thing economically .That's right folks. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay you for it. That includes your time and labor. As for individual crusades, I say good on ya' mate! Doesn't matter if noone else follows your example, or nothing at all changes because of your (our) little efforts( or grudges ) ;-) on behalf of whatever positions we hold. You Irish Grant? I ask because I am. We Irish know about grudges. Hatfields and McCoys anyone? Been know to tilt at a few windmills myself. I'm boycotting Nestle products now. They closed a chocolate factory locally. They were making a good profit. It's just that they could make a better profit with cheaper labor and ingredients somewhere else. And it wasn't in the USA. Nearly killed the town of Fulton , NY. Does anyone have any idea how many businesses are tied in with Nestles? It boggles the mind. But I try. I ride my bicycle for trips 15 miles or less. Have for 20 years. I make exceptions for dates. It is impossible to sound cool, attractive or desirable and utter the words "would you mind riding on the handlebars". We do what we can and sometimes we fall short of even our own expectations. In the long run none of it may make a bit of difference to anyone but ourselves. But if it helps us sleep better at night knowing we tried, it's worth the effort. Imagine how terrible this world could be if noone tried at all. If you look around and don't see anything that makes you angry, you just aren't paying attention!

Comment by Grant Alden on May 29, 2010 at 6:45am: There's some Irish, yes. Not as much as legend allows, but a bit (from County Cork, I'm told, tho that may have just been the port from which they left). As it happens, I live a few counties over from the Hatfields and McCoys. The Rowan County Feud (you can google it, I'm sure) was actually somewhat worse, the historians say. Bad enough they called the feds in. I tread ginger here.

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