The largest oil spill is taking over the Atlantic Ocean as I type–and while I would love to spend this time writing about my opinions–I would much rather give youth some opportunities to take action! Here are some things that I think we can all do to speak out against the oil spill and to say that it is unacceptable that oil giants can cause environmental and social devastation with very little damage to their companies–while the ecosystems and people who depend on ecosystem health struggle to keep their homes and maintain their livelihood and their health.

Here are some very simple ways to take action:

- Learn about the issue and learn about what is happening. How are people being affected? Who is being affected? What are people saying? I liked Amy Goodman’s coverage on June 2nd. In this episode she meets with local fisherman and British Petroleum (BP) employees.

- Take part in Council of Canadians’ Action Alert. Offshore drilling is very much a reality for Canada’s future, as the federal government looks at the Arctic as a spot that is ripe-for-drillin’. Some say that a spill in the Arctic would be even more ecologically catastrophic than the spill in the Gulf, so join Council of Canadians in saying “Leave it in the Ground.” Offshore drilling is inherently risky–why risk it, when we don’t have to?

-Respond! Respond! Respond! Some tar sands advocates have taken this opportunity to say, “The BP Tragedy makes oil sands look good.” When I read articles like this, I must respond. I wrote a letter to the editor (most news outlets make it easy for you to write letters online, but you can also contact the editorial board directly by calling the local paper), saying that one environmental tragedy does not make another environmental tragedy good. The tar sands are contaminating water ways, poisoning communities, destroying precious boreal forest, and violating aboriginal treaty rights. Oil spills do not make oil sands look good!

-Be proactive in your response! Write Op-eds, blogs, facebook notes. Don’t be shy! Read some of the related articles below and contact your local newspaper.

-Sign the Avaaz petition against offshore drilling

Here are what others are saying:

BP Could Reach the Atlantic Coast within weeks! The spill is uncontrollable. While it happened in the Gulf of Mexico…it is enroute to the Maritime provinces. Check out the full article

The Energy Action Coalition is encouraging people in the USA to contact their Senators!

David Suzuki and Faisal Moola say that “Our oil addiction has always been messy.” In this article, they give us some history about oil spills and society’s dirty addiction to oil.

Want a laugh? Check out what BP would do if they spilled coffee! Talk about taking things seriously…

Now with all that information, I encourage you to not only spread the information and talk to your communities, but also to take action! Together we need to come together and address the oil industry’s impacts on people and the planet. We cannot let risky businesses continue. We cannot stay silent.