Let's face it, regardless of our good ecological intentions,
many of us are still going to stop to refuel the gas tank (with petroleum)
at some time or another. Biodiesel hasn't become a national craze yet
and most of us haven't converted our vehicles to run on veggie oil nor
bought a hybrid electric car for that matter. While we can admire those
who have, and applaud our individual efforts to walk, bike, and take
public transit more, there are still those seemingly inevitable moments
when the
choice of whether or not to support the petroleum industry may not seem
like a choice at all.
For many of us this may feel like an especially
timely issue. In the aftermath of a preemptive war in a region where
the oil industry has massive interests,
it is as important as ever to assess our values and consciously choose to put
our money where our hearts are.
If you're like me, you were initially conditioned
to choose a gas station based on the best price per gallon. Considering
social and ecological responsibility
in petroleum companies never crossed your mind. (In fact what started me
researching this piece was an email going around pleading for folks to
boycott Exxon-Mobil
in order to get them to lower their prices. I agree that we should boycott
Exxon-Mobil, but for their track record not lower prices.)
Disclaimer: no
petroleum company is eco-groovy. It's a paradox of concepts. But if
you're going to refuel anyway, there are certain companies that are
doing
more good, from a social and ecological standpoint, than others, e.g.,
acknowledging that global warming is real.
According to www.betterworldhandbook.com,
Sunoco was the most socially responsible gas station in 2001 by a good
margin. BP (Amoco/Arco) was second
in the running.
Since we're already engaged in a conversation about lesser evils, I'll
skip the rest of the list, except to inform you that Exxon/Mobil was
at the very
bottom
(you can check out a handy reference chart online at the aforementioned
website).
To put things in perspective I'll focus on some of the things
these top two companies are doing. Both Sunoco and BP/Amoco/Arco (BP)
acknowledge the problem
with global
warming. Sunoco is the only oil company that has signed the CERES principles.
CERES stands for the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies,
a U.S. coalition of environmental, investor and advocacy groups focused
on sustainability
and corporate responsibility. The CERES principles are "a ten
point code of environmental conduct," according to their website,
where the principles are listed: ceres.org. Sunoco is a much smaller
company
than BP. Out here in
Dancing Rabbit territory there are no Sunoco stations.
BP's performance
is clearly controversial to environmental enthusiasts. While it's
the world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaics, it didn't
take much
to get there: BP spent $45 million to buy the Solarex Corporation
(compared with
$36.5 billion to buy Arco). Apparently BP's average annual investment
in solar technology is worth about a third of what it is spending
each year
on its "Beyond
Petroleum" ad campaign an ad campaign that is being bashed
by environmentalists for green-washing its corporate image.
(Many
companies in the oil industry are now running ads that suggest
they are promoting ecological sustainability. This tactic, known
as "green-washing" is
an extra incentive to get educated on the practices and policies
of these companies.)
On the one hand BP is at the forefront of efforts
to secure ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on global climate
change. On the other BP
stands to gain
a disproportionate
financial advantage from said ratification because of its holdings
in natural gas, as BP is a global leader in the production of natural
gas.
Natural
gas can produce lower carbon emissions than oil, but it is still
a fossil fuel not
a renewable source of energy.
While BP may be leading the petroleum
industry in its expenditures on renewables, it's still spending
far more on petroleum and continuing
to explore new
oil prospects including
drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, if given
the chance.
To keep this brief I'm sparing you all the human rights
violations and ecologically appalling activities of these and all
the other
petroleum companies. On the
one hand it's easy to condemn the entire oil industry for its contribution
to environmental
degradation and exploitation of the developing world. On the other
it
is an improvement to have some in the industry taking steps to
acknowledge global warming and develop
programs in renewable energy. In short, if you must fill up on
petrol and
you
are committed to spending your money with social and environmental
consciousness, choose Sunoco if you can. Otherwise go with BP/Amoco they
are the lesser evil of the various evil oil corporations out there.
Sol Mund, also known as Jess, was a DR member for two years. Now our
neighbor, she lives 3 miles down the road at Sandhill Farm with her adorable
baby, Skyler. She likes long walks in the woods and homebrews.
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