Now that the weather is warmer we are back to cruising around town on our bike. This morning, as we took our life in our hands on a busy urban street dodging buses, car doors and other cyclists, we pedaled past a local service station and noticed for the first time the BP sign. Like most people we usually pay closer attention to the price per gallon on top of the pump than to the name of the gas supplier.

The contrast between the eco-sunny sentiment of the green and yellow BP logo, and the sludgy reality of what is happening in the Gulf made us feel positively hostile. Well, our uncomfortable bike pants, getting cut off by a taxi and the looming mountains ahead of us – okay, more like a series of hills – didn’t help. Anyway, it’s amazing how fury can fuel you, and we swished up and down the hills with ease; by the end of the ride our exercising endorphins had kicked in and calm reason briefly prevailed.

In those few moments of clarity, we decided it’s all too easy to vilify BP and their suppliers. Yes, those responsible for this mess must be held accountable, but is this not just another wake-up call in a long series of wake-up calls? The geo-political-eco-drill-baby-drill-pain caused by our gas guzzling ways is just being driven closer to home. We can’t live forever having our needs met in someone else’s back yard and we can’t continue consuming more than our share of fossil fuels. (more…)