oil spill photos

i kind of want to collect photos of the oil spill in the gulf of the mexico. scientists, engineers, environmentalists, activists, politicians will need to assemble lots of stuff to help us move away from our dependency on oil (oil is sooo useful, not just in terms of burning it for energy usage but also synthesis of so many different materials). photos are a really powerful and moving medium.

pictures of wildlife being coated with crude oil:http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

if the oil spill was in my backyard visualization: http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/

i think i read in the NYT today that maybe if the US government really wanted to make a statement in the power struggle between corporations (especially BP in this case) and itself, it should yank out the contracts for oil that fuel military operations. which kind of leads to all sorts of interesting questions of what areas make the biggest impact in terms of reducing oil consumption.

transportation is a big one. on a personal level for instance, i regularly take the mbta buses from my house to travel around the boston area and as i was waiting, i noticed that the majority of cars driven on the road are only occupied by 1 person, even when the capacity is like 4. we should drive less by using public transportation, walking, biking more often if possible for running errands or going to appointments, rent cars when we need them instead of buying if that's appropriate for our lifestyle as students or people who live near their jobs, or if we need to commute, buy smaller cars like smart cars.