BP Oil Spill Turns Ordinary People Into Activists

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a monumental tragedy. Habitats are being destroyed, wildlife are dying, fishermen and shrimpers have lost their livelihoods, and we don't know what the long-term health impact will be for locals. But the BP oil spill has had one interesting benefit: it has turned the average person into an activist.

Americans and people around the world are taking a stand against BP and against dependence on oil, and they're using whatever means they have to make their voice heard.

People Protest Oil Spill in a Variety of Ways

One photo circulating Twitter shows a gas pump with a sticker on it that reads "Contains 10% Seawater." Whether it's an actual sticker or clever photo editing doesn't matter. Sure, it would be sobering to see that if you drove up to the pump, but if the "sticker" has been added digitally, it still makes for a great activist photo. And a lot more people can see it online.

The oil spill has also permeated fashion. Online T-shirt seller Threadless has launched a new shirt design called pelican, which features a black graphic of a pelican about to take flight, the oil covering its body and oozing off in large drops. Not only is it a protest, all proceeds are being donated to the Gulf Restoration Network.

The protest signs people are making are also inventive, smart, and even heartbreaking. One little girl at a rally in New Orleans held up a hand-painted sign that read "Fish can't breath oil!!!!!!!!!!!!" below which, she'd painted a picture of an oil-covered fish. Sure, there was a spelling mistake, but that made it all the more poignant.

And then there's this chalky-black bar of soap with "OIL" engraved on the top surface, and a sign behind it reads, "Don't wash your hands in their filth..."

What is perhaps most interesting is people are employing their particular skills and hobbies to protest. Whether that's designing a T-shirt, making a bar of soap, snapping (or altering) a photo, or just painting a homemade sign that comes from the heart, people are taking a stand.

So here's a challenge for you: Make your voice heard. Write about your views on the oil spill on your blog. Make stickers and post them around the city. Create a button to sell in a local shop—and donate proceeds to the clean-up. Design a desktop wallpaper and make it available. Write a poem, or a letter to the editor of your newspaper. Turn the windows of your home into protest billboards with water-based paint or window markers. Whatever you're good at, use it—for some greater good.