the webgreek blog

Do you have a few free weeks this summer?  Maybe a whole month?  Well, if you’re like me, you’re probably incredibly flustered about this mess in the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s unbelievably destructive.  These heart-breaking photos from the Boston Globe (where the one above comes from) put a face on the otherwise unimaginable scale of this disaster, which you can track here.

If you have the ability and desire to do something about it, here are some resources.  Please help if you can.  Seriously though, it’s about time Louisiana got a break.  I’d be raising money for it through the SF Marathon, but I’ve committed to donating to Haiti relief at this stage.

To Volunteer

There will be many volunteers needed to help clean oiled wildlife, photograph the oil spill’s spread and impact, and many other supporting roles.  The clean up will take a long time, and right now they are asking volunteers to register to be contacted later.  You can do so here.

To Donate

The spill will also cost a lot of money, in both the short term and the long term.  The National Wildlife Fund is collecting money to help restore damaged habitat, support volunteers at the scene, as well as political advocacy.  There are also plenty of local organizations collecting money.

If you don’t have a lot of money to donate, why not try to raise some money from friends and family?  A great way to do this is to register for a race, and ask people to sponsor you.  If you are a philanthropy officer in your fraternity or sorority, you’ll know a lot of ways to fundraise.  For those who don’t, the San Francisco Marathon’s webpage has a great PDF guide full of ways to make your run/bike/swim as helpful as possible.

And finally, it’s worth addressing the ultimate cause of this disaster, which is the use of so much energy.  I won’t preach or get into politics, but I will say that it is never a bad idea to live a little greener.  This site is a good reminder of some easy ways to think about making our own footprint a little smaller.

To keep track of the response, check out the official site of the Deepwater Horizon Response Unified Command.