Since BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion this spring, over 5 million barrels of oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Animals, humans, states and entire industries have been devastated. Meanwhile, the conditions which lead to this catastrophe have gone largely unaddressed.

Off shore drilling is still seen as a legitimate way for us to meet our energy needs, and we continue to burn through unbelievable amounts of this finite fuel. What does this tell us about the world we live in today? For starters, it shows that the real crisis goes much deeper than any single disaster.

Our entire economy runs on the consumption of fossil fuels, a dependence which places us at the mercy of companies like BP and endangers the sustainability of life as we know it. This last oil spill is one overwhelming indicator that this way of life cannot last, that our culture and economy must change.

Fortunately, the change that we need so badly can begin in our homes, and it can begin with us. According to experts like Energy Savvy, the energy lost in the BP spill is roughly equivalent to the energy wasted every year by 75,000 homes. By weatherizing our homes and retrofitting our neighborhoods, we can start to take meaningful actions that reduce our dependence on oil. And weatherization is only one example.

In this video explaining the BP oil spill, Lisa See Kim and Ryan Hollon illustrate alternative routes to meeting our energy demands.  Crude Awakenings points to changes we can make as a society to reduce our dependence on oil, whether that means changing where we get our food or investing in solar and wind power.

Whether these actions are supported the government or come from grassroots coalitions, what matters most is that they happen. For the more energy-efficient our world becomes, the less power Big Oil has over how we live our lives.

For more information on the problem and solutions check out:

Gulf Spill is Largest of It’s Kind, Scientist Say, New York Times

Energy Action Coalition is a coalition of 50 youth-led environmental and social justice groups working together to build the youth clean energy and climate movement.

Chicago’s Energy Action Network expands winter heating assistance services in neighborhoods and encourage residents to save money year-round through energy efficiency measures and programs.

Alliance for Climate Education educates high school students on the science behind climate change and inspires them to take action to curb the causes of global warming.

Report: Energy efficiency can save oil, avoid dangerous drilling, Grist

Farm Together Now is a new book (December 2010) by Amy Franceschini and Daniel Tucker who visited 20 urban and rural farmers around the country to provide a vision of real alternatives to oil-dependent industrial agriculture.  We’ll let you know when the book is available, but meanwhile, you can check out Amy and Dan’s website.

Every Sunday and holiday, about 80 miles of the main streets of Bogota are blocked off from cars for most of the day so that bicyclists, runners, skaters, and pedestrians can take over the streets.  The ciclovias are used by about 2 million people – about 30% of the population and are surrounded by other events on park stages – concerts, yoga and aerobic instructions, and other performances.

And now, Los Angeles, the least likely suspect, whose endless concrete and streets have been the butt of urban critique for devoting most of the public space in the city to cars instead of people is on the verge of launching its own – CicLAvia – an event to be held on September 12 if all goes as planned.

“L.A. doesn’t have enough public space…of the largest cities in the U.S., L.A. is the most park-poor,” says Aaron Paley, CicLAvia advocate, in a video on Kickstarter, the social entrepreneur venture capital network. (What could be more Do-It-Together?  Venture capital from anyone who can give $1 a more).

“But we do have these fantastic streets.  And the streets already belong to us.  And by turning the streets over to the people on a Sunday we create temporary parks overnight without any large investment.”

Aaron is a professional animator of public spaces and runs a company that is, ironically, called CARS (Community Arts Resources).  He makes festivals, events, and turns concrete in L.A. into places where people dance, and, sing and play together.  He’s a friend and we were Stanton Fellows together (a great program that helps social entrepreneurs create their own project – sorry, only in L.A.).  He was researching and investigating and noodling about a new idea for public space, ended up in Bogota, and came back as a ciclovia evangelist.

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The Native Green Landscaping and Gardening Cooperative, has been organized with the support of the Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA). The cooperative is comprised of IDEPSCA members, day laborers and household workers, all of whom have completed a green gardening training course and received a certificate in sustainable landscaping from the City of Los Angeles.  Want a to use less water and have a beautiful garden made out of native plants?  Give them a call at: (213) 252-2952 or shoot Raul an email at ranorve@idepsca.org.  They’ll answer any questions and provide a free consultation.

Native Green’s website, brochure, and business cards were designed and produced by the UCLA Community Scholars team of Brenda Aguilera, Sara Martin, and Alex Stevens.

Here’s a shot of the brochure:

This fold-out brochure was created by the team of Daniel Gonzalez, Jaime Lopez, Mathew Palmer, and Cathy Person and shows you how to save utility costs (as well as the environment) with simple retrofits.  Information about Los Angeles’ resources for assistance and subsidies is also included.  Images from the brochure are provided below and an 11 x 17 printable version (outside and inside) may be found here.

The brochure looks great printed out on 11×17 newsprint.  Contact info@drpop.org for a higher resolution version.

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This poster was created by Nick Cranmer, Sam Filler, and Uyen Le to promote the kinds of policies that can expand construction career opportunities, reduce poverty, and create a better environment.

Snapshots of the poster panels are presented below and you can also download a printable version of the poster here.

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Report and popular education scripts, curricula, poster, and brochure to engage workers, youth, and families in creating a more green and equitable economy. For download, print, or to read on the site.

Tools for a Greener Economy: A Popular Education Strategy