I've written a lot about the oil spill since it began on April 20. Watching BP flub fix after fix -- and noting the Obama administration's growing incompetence -- I understand why Americans are seething with anger, frustration and an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
This is a turning point in our national consciousness. We look at the Gulf -- at the dying birds, the oily beaches, the ravaged fishing and shrimping industries -- and we see the truth about fossil fuels, our reliance on them, and the scary, unsustainable future that's in store -- unless we do something right here, right now.
Luckily, you are not helpless. There is something you can do to mitigate this disaster. And you can start today. You can visit MyGulfAction.com, a unique online platform that my non-profit organization, SmartPower, developed in response to the Gulf disaster.
MyGulfAction.com helps you understand how your personal energy use is connected to our nation's demand for oil and other fossil fuels -- and shows you how to reduce your energy consumption in small, painless ways across every area of your life. Whether its driving less, or spending five fewer minutes in the shower, each reduction you make will aggregate with others on the homepage, showing what we're doing to offset the gallons of oil leaking into the Gulf.
Ultimately, we'd like to offset every last drop.
MyGulfAction.com is a partnership with several non-profit groups who are doing vital work around this disaster, including 350.org, Waterkeeper Alliance and Save Our Gulf, League of Conservation Voters, Center for Resource Solutions, Clean Water Action, and Gulf Future, a joint project of the Gulf Coast Fund and Gulf Restoration Network.
We're also forging some exciting celebrity partnerships, to be announced in the coming weeks. And keep an eye out for our upcoming ad in the New York Times. If BP can run with the big dogs, then so will we.
Principled leaders and strong policies will be part of fixing this. But there's another very important piece. It starts in every American home, office and car: reducing our personal energy use, one small action at a time, thereby reducing our collective reliance on fossil fuels and sending an explicit message to elected officials. We're ready for a clean energy economy, here and now.
As you're looking for ways to take action in response to the spill, start by taking personal responsibility for your own reliance on fossil fuels. This is how we'll all be part of the solution. Visit MyGulfAction.com today.
Brian F. Keane is president of SmartPower, the nation's leading non-profit marketers of clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency. For more information, visit www.smartpower.org.