from Little House on the Southern Prairie

How to help the Gulf Coast
June 7, 2010 · 32 Comments
Buy less plastic shit, and less shit that comes packaged in plastic. It really is that simple.
I’m mad about the spill — BP really, really sucks, and the government medium-sucks. But most of all I’m mad at We The People, yours truly included. We’re the ones that demand cheap oil and cheap crap made out of petroleum products. BP was doing this for us — we voted with our dollars, made them extraordinarily rich, told them to drill more, more, more, faster, faster, faster.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Maybe the problem has been the message. “Green” is billed as pious, virtuous, martyrdom. Yuck. That’s never been my motivation. My motivation has been a bit more fuck you. Fuck you, BP and factory farms and all companies without a conscience, for polluting my oceans, destroying our soil, and filling our foods and household products with poisons solely for your profit. You don’t deserve a dollar of mine. I sincerely hope I help bankrupt you. No, the economy won’t collapse. Better businesses will take over the market share.

If you are looking at the god-awful pictures of the sea birds and feeling angry, helpless or guilty, then go ahead and get mad. Being “green” isn’t about being good; it’s about being rebellious.
You can start small. It all counts. I ordered these toothbrushes today and hope we like them. Toothbrushes made out of recycled plastic and they can be recycled again, too. Not even expensive. One less thing requiring a steady stream out of the ocean.
Put the lid from your morning Starbucks in the recycle bin instead of the trash, or bring a reusable mug. Keep the fabric grocery bags in your car so you don’t forget them. Get the shampoos that come in bars instead of bottles, and laundry soaps that come in boxes instead of jugs. Root out plastic like a person on a low-carb diet looking for sugar snuck into everyday products. Google around a bit — if there’s something you don’t want to give up, an eco-friendly alternative probably exists. We can do this. Not to become angels. Do it to send a giant double-middle-finger sign to every company that’s making fat profit margins killing your planet.