verushka70 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
verushka70) wrote2007-07-23 11:35 pm
verushka70) wrote2007-07-23 11:35 pm
Yaoi; BP to further pollute Lake Michigan (more than it already does)
I bought a Yaoi book today, my first. An authentic, read-it-right-to-left-and-back-to-front yaoi. I have resisted thus far because, well, I just don't really find anime/manga representations of human beings all that sexually exciting. They're visually interesting, but not sexually exciting, perhaps because (imo, just my 2 cents) they look too much like big-eyed children to me, and that's a bit of an ick factor for me. I prefer my anime imagery in the violent Vampire Hunter D vein (no pun intended). We'll see if this yaoi changes my mind. Anyway, I thought I'd try expanding my horizons whilst simultaneously indulging my rampant need for escapism. I'm quite glad that I bought an 18+ yrs & up yaoi for "mature audience ONLY", not merely a 13+ or 16+. Because, well, romance is all right, but fucking is good (or should I say, "butt-fucking is good"?), and boy-boy fucking is the best. It's win-win-win! I looked at some others, but they were tamer and more expensive ($12.95, as opposed to $9.99), so I chose the cheaper, dirtier yaoi. \o/ Because that's just how I am.
Latest Great Lakes outrage: British Petroleum's refinery in Whiting, Indiana has been given permission (WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM THE CITY OF CHICAGO OR STATE OF ILLINOIS!) by Indiana officials to increase it's pollution of Lake Michigan. Not that this comes as any surprise. I mean, people died in explosions at a BP refinery in Texas and then BP dumped over 200,000 gallons of crude through a broken pipeline in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska that they failed to maintain or fix in a timely fashion. And that's just the last couple/few years. God knows how much they've covered up.
But BP has been given permission to "release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan each day." ... "The company will now be allowed to dump an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge into Lake Michigan every day. The additional sludge is the maximum allowed under federal guidelines." ("BP gets break on dumping in lake; Refinery expansion entices Indiana," By Michael Hawthorne, July 15, 2007 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-pollute_15jul15,1,647384.story)
I'm wondering how well this would go over with, oh, say, Londoners, if it were being done to the Thames. Better yet, I wonder how well BP would like it if 1,500+ lbs. of ammonia and nearly 5,000 lbs of sludge were dumped on their corporate headquarters in London? Not much, I'd guess. But, imagine: that's how much would have to be dumped on their offices every day to equal their new daily limit for dumping in Lake Michigan.
Please feel free to voice your outrage
'Boycott BP' initiative with the Illinois Coalition for Peace, Justice & the Environment (http://www.ilcpj.org
OR
Contact BP directly to discuss BP's relationship with "Environment & society" at
http://www.bp.com/genericformsdisplay.do?formId=7050066
OR
Signing this petition to "Tell BP and EPA: We're Beyond Polluting Lake Michigan" at https://www.environmentillinois.org/action/protect-lake-michigan/bp-epapetition
OR, how about doing all three! it will take just minutes!
You could just email BP a link to the Chicago Tribune story and then write, "You suck. I am boycotting BP from now on." Wouldn't that be short, sweet & to the point?
Here is the letter I sent to BP via their corporate web page "contact us" "Environment & society" form:
In regard to BP's Whiting, Indiana refinery's new permission to dump even more filth into Lake Michigan --
(1) How would BP expect, for example, London residents to respond to increased dumping of "54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge,"*1 into the Thames "every day"? Even better, how would that "1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge" look if it were dumped on BP's corporate office building in London EVERY DAY?*2
(2) I don't often buy gasoline at BP stations; they are not competitively priced in my area. But I'll be CERTAIN to boycott BP stations, even in emergencies, and pass them by in favor of Citgo, for example. I'll also be happy to tell all of my friends and relatives to boycott BP and to patronize Citgo. Since most of them are in Chicago, it won't be hard to convince them. I don't care if it was approved by the Indiana EPA or not; Chicago and Illinois weren't consulted or allowed any input into the decision to increase BP's Whiting dumping limits at all. Yet it affects our beaches as much as anyone else's (except perhaps Michigan's) because of Whiting, Indiana's proximity to Chicago's shoreline.
(3) Creating "80 new jobs," *3 is not reason enough to justify or rationalize increased pollution of Lake Michigan. Even 200 new jobs would not justify it. Thousands of people in Chicago, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan earn a living serving tourists along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Their livelihood will be NEGATIVELY impacted by BP's increased polluting far more than 80 new jobs will positively impact the Indiana economy. It is evil of BP to use Indiana's sad economic and employment circumstances to manipulate state officials to grant variances and allow increased pollution of Lake Michigan. Not only is it a sin against the humans whose lives you affect, not only is it a sin against nature and the Lake Michigan ecosystem -- it is morally repugnant, unconscionable, and simply evil on BP's part.
The bottom line is that nothing BP says -- no amount of spin, no amount of "damage control" -- will sway people from rightfully (and righteously) protesting increased dumping of sludge and ammonia into Lake Michigan. The lake already gets quite enough pollution. There is NO reason good enough to justify BP's increased dumping. I suggest BP rethink its decision to dump to the full extent permitted. When oil profits have been at record highs in the last few years (and this has been reported in the national and global news), it is ridiculous to think that BP cannot afford to spend a few of it's TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN OIL PROFITS in the last few years to upgrade the Whiting, Indiana refinery (built in 1889, *4) to be more efficient and less environmentally damaging.
BP is ROLLING in record profits, yet it can't be bothered to spend any of that staggering profit to upgrade the Whiting refinery? That is just plain appalling and outrageous. I simply have no words to describe how thoroughly disgusted I am at BP's desire to increase it's pollution of our beautiful, freshwater lake -- from which MILLIONS of people get their drinking water (six million in Illinois ALONE,*5).
Your efforts to portray yourself as an environmentally friendly company are laughable. No one actually believes those commercials, with the exceptions of children and cretins. With your record in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay,*6, BP's illegal efforts to manipulate prices,*7, and now your plans to increase pollution in Lake Michigan, BP reveals it's true nature to people.
Aside from BP's record profits, perhaps if BP hadn't lost over 200,000 gallons, *8, of oil via the Prudhoe Bay pipeline in March '06 -- and God knows how many hundreds of thousands of gallons elsewhere in the world over the years -- it might have the "spare cash" to update the Whiting refinery to the 21st century. BP has certainly profited off the misery of Katrina, too. So why not spend some of that illegally and immorally obtained excess profit on modernizing the Whiting refinery?
Or maybe that's just asking too much from a filthy rich, yet still grotesquely greedy, lying, and polluting corporation.
Sincerely,
(me)
References
*1,2,3,4: "BP gets break on dumping in lake; Refinery expansion entices Indiana," By Michael Hawthorne, July 15, 2007 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-pollute_15jul15,1,647384.story
*5: Lake Michigan Monitoring, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.state.il.us/water/surface-water/lake-michigan-mon.html)
*6, 8: "BP executive declines to testify at hearing; Former head of pipeline-corrosion monitoring for BP takes the Fifth" AP Updated: 1:40 p.m. CT Sept 7, 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14715620/
*7: "BP unit accused of price manipulation; Traders allegedly influenced propane prices illegally in 2004" AP Updated: 11:52 a.m. CT June 29, 2006
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13608828/)
"Activists, Congressman To BP: Don't Dump In Lake;
Rep. Mark Kirk Fights Plan To Relax Dumping Limits At Indiana Refinery"
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_201121806.html
Ooo, I'm gettin' my bitch on. It feels so good to be righteously vicious. It feels very... V for Vendetta.
ETA: I thought this was sent to BP, but apparently it wasn't because it was too long. I had to send a much-abbreviated version. However, I'm just going to copy and paste the original into a Word doc, print, and put in the mail to the bastards.
Latest Great Lakes outrage: British Petroleum's refinery in Whiting, Indiana has been given permission (WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM THE CITY OF CHICAGO OR STATE OF ILLINOIS!) by Indiana officials to increase it's pollution of Lake Michigan. Not that this comes as any surprise. I mean, people died in explosions at a BP refinery in Texas and then BP dumped over 200,000 gallons of crude through a broken pipeline in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska that they failed to maintain or fix in a timely fashion. And that's just the last couple/few years. God knows how much they've covered up.
But BP has been given permission to "release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan each day." ... "The company will now be allowed to dump an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge into Lake Michigan every day. The additional sludge is the maximum allowed under federal guidelines." ("BP gets break on dumping in lake; Refinery expansion entices Indiana," By Michael Hawthorne, July 15, 2007 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-pollute_15jul15,1,647384.story)
I'm wondering how well this would go over with, oh, say, Londoners, if it were being done to the Thames. Better yet, I wonder how well BP would like it if 1,500+ lbs. of ammonia and nearly 5,000 lbs of sludge were dumped on their corporate headquarters in London? Not much, I'd guess. But, imagine: that's how much would have to be dumped on their offices every day to equal their new daily limit for dumping in Lake Michigan.
Please feel free to voice your outrage
'Boycott BP' initiative with the Illinois Coalition for Peace, Justice & the Environment (http://www.ilcpj.org
OR
Contact BP directly to discuss BP's relationship with "Environment & society" at
http://www.bp.com/genericformsdisplay.do?formId=7050066
OR
Signing this petition to "Tell BP and EPA: We're Beyond Polluting Lake Michigan" at https://www.environmentillinois.org/action/protect-lake-michigan/bp-epapetition
OR, how about doing all three! it will take just minutes!
You could just email BP a link to the Chicago Tribune story and then write, "You suck. I am boycotting BP from now on." Wouldn't that be short, sweet & to the point?
Here is the letter I sent to BP via their corporate web page "contact us" "Environment & society" form:
In regard to BP's Whiting, Indiana refinery's new permission to dump even more filth into Lake Michigan --
(1) How would BP expect, for example, London residents to respond to increased dumping of "54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge,"*1 into the Thames "every day"? Even better, how would that "1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge" look if it were dumped on BP's corporate office building in London EVERY DAY?*2
(2) I don't often buy gasoline at BP stations; they are not competitively priced in my area. But I'll be CERTAIN to boycott BP stations, even in emergencies, and pass them by in favor of Citgo, for example. I'll also be happy to tell all of my friends and relatives to boycott BP and to patronize Citgo. Since most of them are in Chicago, it won't be hard to convince them. I don't care if it was approved by the Indiana EPA or not; Chicago and Illinois weren't consulted or allowed any input into the decision to increase BP's Whiting dumping limits at all. Yet it affects our beaches as much as anyone else's (except perhaps Michigan's) because of Whiting, Indiana's proximity to Chicago's shoreline.
(3) Creating "80 new jobs," *3 is not reason enough to justify or rationalize increased pollution of Lake Michigan. Even 200 new jobs would not justify it. Thousands of people in Chicago, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan earn a living serving tourists along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Their livelihood will be NEGATIVELY impacted by BP's increased polluting far more than 80 new jobs will positively impact the Indiana economy. It is evil of BP to use Indiana's sad economic and employment circumstances to manipulate state officials to grant variances and allow increased pollution of Lake Michigan. Not only is it a sin against the humans whose lives you affect, not only is it a sin against nature and the Lake Michigan ecosystem -- it is morally repugnant, unconscionable, and simply evil on BP's part.
The bottom line is that nothing BP says -- no amount of spin, no amount of "damage control" -- will sway people from rightfully (and righteously) protesting increased dumping of sludge and ammonia into Lake Michigan. The lake already gets quite enough pollution. There is NO reason good enough to justify BP's increased dumping. I suggest BP rethink its decision to dump to the full extent permitted. When oil profits have been at record highs in the last few years (and this has been reported in the national and global news), it is ridiculous to think that BP cannot afford to spend a few of it's TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN OIL PROFITS in the last few years to upgrade the Whiting, Indiana refinery (built in 1889, *4) to be more efficient and less environmentally damaging.
BP is ROLLING in record profits, yet it can't be bothered to spend any of that staggering profit to upgrade the Whiting refinery? That is just plain appalling and outrageous. I simply have no words to describe how thoroughly disgusted I am at BP's desire to increase it's pollution of our beautiful, freshwater lake -- from which MILLIONS of people get their drinking water (six million in Illinois ALONE,*5).
Your efforts to portray yourself as an environmentally friendly company are laughable. No one actually believes those commercials, with the exceptions of children and cretins. With your record in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay,*6, BP's illegal efforts to manipulate prices,*7, and now your plans to increase pollution in Lake Michigan, BP reveals it's true nature to people.
Aside from BP's record profits, perhaps if BP hadn't lost over 200,000 gallons, *8, of oil via the Prudhoe Bay pipeline in March '06 -- and God knows how many hundreds of thousands of gallons elsewhere in the world over the years -- it might have the "spare cash" to update the Whiting refinery to the 21st century. BP has certainly profited off the misery of Katrina, too. So why not spend some of that illegally and immorally obtained excess profit on modernizing the Whiting refinery?
Or maybe that's just asking too much from a filthy rich, yet still grotesquely greedy, lying, and polluting corporation.
Sincerely,
(me)
References
*1,2,3,4: "BP gets break on dumping in lake; Refinery expansion entices Indiana," By Michael Hawthorne, July 15, 2007 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-pollute_15jul15,1,647384.story
*5: Lake Michigan Monitoring, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.state.il.us/water/surface-water/lake-michigan-mon.html)
*6, 8: "BP executive declines to testify at hearing; Former head of pipeline-corrosion monitoring for BP takes the Fifth" AP Updated: 1:40 p.m. CT Sept 7, 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14715620/
*7: "BP unit accused of price manipulation; Traders allegedly influenced propane prices illegally in 2004" AP Updated: 11:52 a.m. CT June 29, 2006
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13608828/)
"Activists, Congressman To BP: Don't Dump In Lake;
Rep. Mark Kirk Fights Plan To Relax Dumping Limits At Indiana Refinery"
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_201121806.html
Ooo, I'm gettin' my bitch on. It feels so good to be righteously vicious. It feels very... V for Vendetta.
ETA: I thought this was sent to BP, but apparently it wasn't because it was too long. I had to send a much-abbreviated version. However, I'm just going to copy and paste the original into a Word doc, print, and put in the mail to the bastards.