In case you live under a rock somewhere in Iceland, there’s been a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the deep sea oil rig continues to pour millions of gallons of oil into the ocean daily. Some claim that we won’t see a cessation in the oil leak until Christmas.  Now needless to say, there is and will continue to be a ridiculous amount of discussion focused on this disaster. I hesitate to add my two cents to the growing pile of opinions but I am not really a very reasonable person so here goes…

As I read news articles about the oil spill I am interested primarily in our collective response as a nation. What is the “sense” if you will of the American people concerning this tragedy? What’s the buzz?  There’s certainly enough finger pointing to go around.  Then there’s the cheekier take on the issue.  By and large though the impression I come away with after googling, twitter searching, and generally just listening (in-person and online) is that there’s lots of blame and accusation being tossed out there but a lack of assuming responsibility and naming our role as consumers as part of the problem. Pointing the finger at someone else, especially a large corporation with billions in revenue that looks like a goldmine for class action lawsuits is quick and pain-free.  The visual that comes to mind is your average, every day citizen pointing that finger from the driver’s seat of their car. Their gas-guzzling car. Whether that vehicle is a hybrid sedan or the largest SUV you can imagine-they both require fuel to get anywhere. And that fuel happens to be oil. Consumers of gasoline hold a great deal of power and with that comes that nasty word we all tend to avoid, responsibility. Blaming BP and its shareholders and holding them accountable for their actions (or lack thereof) is a right and just course of action but it might behoove citizens to pause for a moment in front of the mirror and perform a quick self-examination. What role does each individual consumer play in shaping how businesses utilize  their workforces and our natural resources?

This boils down to knowing where the products and services you invest in come from and what they’re made of. I can’t say it loud enough…we have to take responsibility for where we put our money and resources. Then we have to take action to alter those organizations or entire industries that have lost all sense of business ethics.  There is no excuse for not being invested in the process. If it seems like a daunting and enormous task you would be right, it is. To take into consideration where that shoelace was made and how the materials used to produce it were harvested all the way to where the materials used to build your home came from and what the business practices that company that you buy your vacuum cleaner from are can quickly lead to paralysis. But we have to start somewhere don’t we? If we truly care for our environment and for the human lives at stake then wouldn’t that compel us to leap into the fray much earlier on? To be a champion, a leader who speaks out on behalf of those who don’t have a voice (and here I am referring to the sea life that is currently being obliterated in the Gulf as well as the sweatshop worker in a third world country who made your t-shirt), that is the duty–no the privilege that Americans have been given. I could extend that privilege globally but at the moment am focused solely on my own country.

I think I can safely say that citizens of the USA are generally concerned about the environment. There is certainly plenty of criticism about the war in the Middle East and the role oil plays in that or consider the controversy surrounding drilling in the Arctic Refuge.  Oil is, of course, only one small part of environmental stewardship as there are literally thousands of issues to be considered on everything from endangered species to the use of our forests to water treatment methods. All this to simply say, we are a people that care about mother nature. We want clean water, an ozone layer, ice caps in the arctic and wildlife for future generations to enjoy. We’re all about “reducing our carbon footprint” and “greening” our lifestyles. But just how far does this extend and are the trends we witness nationally more a marketing ploy than an actual way of life? Based on the number of cars on the road and the growing landfills and the percentage of our energy that still comes from sources such as coal, I would say we’re falling a little short. We talk big and loud but do we put our money where our mouth is?

Mostly I am concerned that there is a lack of national grieving over the BP oil spill. It is the worst spill in the last 50 years…possibly the worst spill in history.  The  Gulf will never be the same. I am no scientist but I can only imagine that the aquatic ecosystem  is suffering significantly. If the oil truly can’t be contained before December 2010 then we risk losing the gulf as we know it entirely. Shouldn’t our response be one of grief first and accusation second? Shouldn’t we pause for a moment and simply mourn collectively for what future generations are losing at our hands? There will be plenty of time and space for due process of the law, for restitution, for fault-finding. In this moment our hearts should break for the beauty that is being destroyed…never to be reclaimed. Take a moment and watch a snippet from the Blue Planet. Allow yourself to feel the weight of what we’re losing.