The Gulf Oil Spill: 7 Ways to Help

Justin Main, a volunteer with the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss., inspects the body of a sea turtle found dead on the beach in Pass Christian, Mississippi, on Sunday, May 2, 2010. An unusually high number of sea turtles have been found dead on beaches in Mississippi in the days since the Gulf oil spill.

Photo: James Edwards Bates/Biloxi Sun-Herald/MCT

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The Gulf oil spill, caused by the explosion of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon rig drilling a BP oil well in mile-deep water is the largest U.S. oil spill in history, bigger than the Exxon Valdez by far. Eleven workers were killed by the blast on the rig April 20, and the open well is gushing as many as 25,000 barrels of oil every day (though BP now says it is capturing 10,000 or more daily with its latest stopgap fix).

The oil slick has closed fishing grounds in federal or state waters off of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida; threatened birds and sea creatures; and led to federal restraints – at least temporarily – on new offshore oil drilling.

It's easy to feel hopeless in the face of such disaster. Taking action is one of the best antidotes for that feeling. What can individuals do to help?

1. Report Injured Wildlife and Oiled Beaches

If you live along the Gulf Coast and spot oil damage or wildlife in need of help, the government has set up these hotlines (along with a Website):

• To report oiled wildlife: 1-866-557-1401 (Leave a message; they will be checked hourly.)
• To report oil spill related damage: 1-800-440-0858
• To report oiled shoreline: 1-866-448-5816

Don't attempt to help oiled wildlife without the help of professionals or trained volunteers.

2. Volunteer

Volunteers must be trained to be effective, and to avoid health problems that can result from handling oil and oiled wildlife. BP is paying many people to respond to the oil spill, and those workers typically include locals put out of work by the spill. So think twice before you "volunteer" because you don't want to take work away from a shrimper or a fishermen put out of work – possibly for years – by the spill. That said, the task of cleaning up, laying booms and cleansing what wildlife can be found is enormous.

Tristate Bird Rescue & Research is coordinating on-the-ground volunteer efforts. Several other groups are helping to organize volunteers to help cleanse birds and otherwise protect both wildlife and human populations along the Gulf Coast. Our favorite (since we just handed its president John Flicker a 2010 Heart of Green Award) is The National Audubon Society, which is helping connect volunteers with the best government or non-profit agency doing work related to the oil spill response. (But there are many many many others.) The government also has a volunteer hotline at 1-866-448-5816. Most organizations are referring volunteers to each state for detailed volunteer opportunities, which can change over time:

• Louisiana
• Alabama
• Mississippi
• Florida

In general, organizations are urging people not to travel to volunteer.

Stay tuned, though. Organizations like the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences will need experienced bird-watchers this fall and for several years to monitor the health of shorebird populations. Volunteer opportunities like this will become available as needed.

3. Donate

While BP has pledged to pay all legitimate claims made in relation to the oil spill, the groups working in the area need immediate support (and there's no guarantee BP will pay every claim victims feel is worthy, especially since U.S. law caps some expenses at $75 million). Here's a list of some of the groups working on the oil spill that get three- and four-star ratings from charitynavigator.com.

• National Audubon Society, is working to aid birds and habitat affected by the spill.
• National Wildlife Federation, is responding to the spill and The Daily Green's own Gloria Reuben has created a video urging you to take action (below).
• Greater New Orleans Foundation, is assisting locally.
• Matter of Trust is accepting donations of hair, fur and nylons, which are used to aid in the oil response.
• Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, which protects important shorebird habitat in the Gulf and throughout the Americas, will be documenting damage to birds and striving to restore them.
  
  

4. Buy Gulf Seafood

You have to be careful that you can trust the source is uncontaminated, but remember that the western Gulf of Mexico remains open to fishing, as do some state waters that haven't been threatened by oil. In all about one-third of the Gulf remains open to commercial fishermen, and since certain species – shrimp, oysters, crabs – are hard to come by, some are turning to crawfish (that's "crayfish" to those of us living outside the region) and other freshwater species that haven't been contaminated. Seafood prices, particularly for Gulf staples like shrimp, oysters, red snapper and shark, are rising across the country, while Gulf fishermen are, largely, out of work. "There's a bit of an irony in that gulf seafood is less highly desired because people are worried about contamination – even unfairly," said Douglas N. Rader, chief ocean scientist for Environmental Defense Fund. "The fishermen that remain in the Gulf aren't benefiting the way they could and should because of higher seafood prices."

5. Write to Elected Leaders

There's nothing like a crisis to focus political will on environmental issues. At issue currently is a proposed expansion of offshore oil drilling in U.S. waters. President Obama made good on a campaign process and proposed the expansion, which is also believed to be a central compromise in the Senate energy bill developed by Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman. The BP oil spill shows how dire the consequences can be from a spill, and Obama has temporarily halted new offshore oil exploration. If you think offshore oil drilling is a bad idea, it's a good time to tell leaders what you think. Here's how:

• Oceana (whose board member Ted Danson won a Heart of Green Award) has created a simple Web tool that allows you to tell your Senator to oppose President Obama's proposed expansion of offshore oil drilling.
• The National Audubon Society has a similarly simple Web tool you can use to tell the Department of the Interior what you think about President Obama's proposal to expand offshore oil drilling.
• The Sierra Club has one addressed to President Obama (though he has presumably already made his decision).
• National Wildlife Federation has another similar appeal, focused on passing comprehensive clean energy legislation.
• Earthjustice and Greenpeace are among those to point out that now's a good time to tell leaders that Arctic oil drilling is dangerous, even more dangerous than Gulf oil drilling, when you consider how remote the rigs are, how treacherous the waters (and ice), and how long it would take to mobilize a response to any spill.
• Friends of Earth points out, as have several media outlets, that the U.S. government response to the oil spill was slow and inadequate to the task, so you might add a few words about federal disaster mobilization as well.
• Environmental Defense has a five-point plan for government to better to respond to oil spills, clean them up, restore damaged natural resources and compensate fishermen and other victims. (Since those affected by oil spills haven't always been compensated and certainly not quickly.)
• If you live in Alaska (that's the Arctic oil drilling mentioned above), Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia or Florida, where Obama has proposed opening new offshore oil exploration (map), you can also write to your governor and state legislators expressing concerns. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have pre-existing offshore oil areas.
  
  

6. Stop Using So Much Oil

While the oil spill has captured the attention of the American people, the most meaningful action one can take to address the long-term consequences of our dependency on oil (consequences that don't just include spills, but everything from global warming to political instability) is to stop using so much oil. You can use public transportation, carpool or bike more often than you drive. You can make your next car a fuel efficient car or even an electric vehicle. You can be mindful of the surprising products made from oil and strive to reduce gas consumption no matter what car you drive. If you live in the Northeast, particularly, and heat your home with oil, learn how to save energy at home. Learn where your electricity comes from, and urge industry and leaders to clean up old oil-fired power plants. And, of course, you can support comprehensive energy legislation that will move the nation from a dependence on fossil fuels like oil and coal to more renewable energy technologies, like wind, solar and geothermal.

7. Boycott BP

While not many no major national organizations are calling for it, there's at least one Facebook page with more than 440,000 supporters suggesting that people boycott of BP, the oil company responsible not only for the Gulf oil spill, but also, in the last decade, a Texas refinery explosion and an Alaskan oil spill. Its safety procedures have been criticized, as have its response to this disaster and its lobbying efforts against stronger offshore oil safety and environmental rules. You'd have to boycott not only BP gas stations but also Arco gas stations, Castrol auto oils and lubricants, am/pm convenience stores and Wild Bean Cafes, Aral gas stations (in Germany), as well as countless products that BP oil is likely used to make, from plastics to pharmaceuticals. If you do boycott BP gas stations, be aware that you may be hurting local station owners more than the company itself.

For many people, an active boycott may not be a goal... but choosing which gas station to use when your tank is dry might inspire a boycott-like action.

Watch Dan Shapley discuss this story on Fox Business News

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