Oil Spill Boards

So Marie, Alex, and I met and decided on a plan about how to respond to the oil spill. We decided on setting up two boards in public areas.

One board, lamely called the Board of Consumption (PLEASE help us think of a better name), will focus on daily acts of consumption of products related to crude oil that are often overlooked because of convenience or other reasons. It's goal is not to get people to stand there and absorb information, but instead to get people to think twice about common items and actions in their lives that have a direct link to the unhealthy process of crude oil production. It will go up in the Reynold's Club right outside the C-shop (pending approval).

So, we're planning to have 3 common, plastic items on there- styrofoam cups, plastic utensils, and plastic water bottles. We've looked up how many items of these you could make with 1 barrel of oil. So, next to these items, which will be taped to the board, we'll write x(a number), with (a number) = the number of that item that could be produced with the total amount of oil spilled. Then we'll have statistics/charts/graphs accounting U.S. dependency on oil and household use of oil.

We decided not to push too hard on blaming/angry activist/anti-corporation track. Don't get me wrong. There's a time for that. But because this is something public, something that a lot of people will see, we're going to take the high road and point out the problems and disaster, but frame them as something that we all have a connection, too. We're going for a personal connection.

The second board will have more information, tentatively called The Board of Information (again, PLEASE help with another name). As the name suggests, we'll have more information no this one. 3 major sections- environmental impacts, economic impacts, and how to take action/help clean-up/and short legislative/political happenings. Also, we're going to have a timeline of major events and milestones at the bottom of the board. And to put a nice touch, the timeline will go well into 2011 and 2012 to emphasize that just because the well may be capped, the effects of this disaster will remain prevalent for years to come.

Oh, and of course, we will cite all the information we get. There will undoubtedly be some people who will dispute the data on grounds of unreliable or biased sources.

This board will go up in the library (pending permission). We felt that people who are going there will probably be more inclined to take the time to read some material.

So, that's our plan. As summer ends, we'll review and revise our gameplan for the school year.

As usual, comments, questions, and concerns are always welcome!

Cloudy skies,

Willy