Exxpose Exxon, Exxpose Them!

Every environmental organization I belong to, as well as MoveOn.org, is filling up my mail box with news of this group campaign: Exxpose Exxon. SaveOurEnvironment.org starts out by asking me:

Do you remember the Exxon Valdez tragedy?

Exxon's tanker killed hundreds of thousands of seals, otters, birds, fish and whales when it spilled 11 million gallons of thick, deadly crude oil into the waters of Alaska's pristine Prince William Sound in 1989.

And because I am an old person, I have to answer: vividly. And it was after that oil spill that I began my own campaign to boycott what was then just Exxon. I cut up my card and sent it back from whence it had come with a teeth-bared letter expressing my feelings towards the company and the fact that I would never buy their products again. And, indeed, I have kept that promise to this day.

Now that Exxon/Mobil has become a major force behind GWB's inability to acknowledge the reality of global warming, the dangers of carbon emissions, the foolishness of continuing to bury our national heads in the sand on the whole global energy debate - as well as being guilty of these other things:

• ExxonMobil is the only oil company that's part of Arctic Power, the group lobbying Congress to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
• ExxonMobil has spent over $15 million since 1998 to deny the existence of global warming by funding junk science groups to cloud the debate.
• ExxonMobil is making record profits but still won't invest significant amounts in cleaner, healthier energy or support greater fuel economy. (The company's pledge to research advanced energy technology is the equivalent of just TWO days' worth of its 2004 profits!)

I am pleased to see that the rest of the world has caught up with me and declared a boycott of the company's petrol. You can read all about it in this NYT article: Exxon Mobil Becomes Focus of a Boycott.

Among the groups involved in the campaign, scheduled to begin on Tuesday with nationwide press conferences and a new Web site, http://www.exxposeexxon.com/, are the U.S. Public Interest Group, Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Union of Concerned Scientists and MoveOn.org Political Action.

I think an action like this will have a much bigger impact if you cut up your cards and mail them back, rather than just driving on past Exxon/Mobil stations to a Citgo when you need a fill-up. Include a few choice words about your decision too.