Day 58 of the oil spill and I fluctuate between feeling sick and hopeless, or having feeling of anger and frustration. I am sure I am no different than anyone else, but when I am stewing about BP there’s this little voice in the back of my head that whispers “You want to blame BP, but what about you? They are drilling oil for your car, your house, your life”. The cold, hard truth is that while BP showed negligence and should be held responsible, we all should think about our own culpability in perpetuating this culture of oil addiction, myself included.
Sustainable Saratoga, a grass roots organization whose mission is “to make the City of Saratoga Springs and the surrounding communities better places to live now and for future generations by promoting economic and environmentally sustainable practices in all aspects of the local economy”, has a Biggest Loser Challenge that encourages energy conservation. Buildings account for almost 40% of all energy use in this country. You will find a downloadable PDF of energy savings steps that you can take to reduce the amount of energy your home uses.
So when I have that terrible feeling of helplessness that occurs when watching the news about the Gulf Oil Spill, I can take control and responsibility of my own actions and reduce the amount of energy I use. Perhaps that pesky little voice will go away too.