How can campuses respond to the oil spill?

The catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the April 20, 2010 explosion of an offshore BP-owned oil rig has put local economies, wildlife and the Gulf's delicate coastal ecosystem at risk. This could be one of the worst environmental disasters in our nation's history.

Each day thousands of gallons of oil pour into coastal waters threatening over 400 species of fish, birds and wildlife and the livelihood of Americans, with the exact magnitude of the spill unknown. College and university students are essential to the recovery of this ecosystem, and to preventing disasters like this in the future.

These pictures are from people on the ground sharing what they are seeing through Flickr.

 

We need your help now.

National Wildlife Federation is helping to lead response efforts on the ground and you can be a part of it.  Whether you're a Gulf Coast native, or sitting in a dorm room on the other side of the country you can make a difference!


1. Download the Oil Spill Student Toolkit - Students are essential to recovery in the Gulf and to ensuring this never happens again. Find out how you can make a difference through advocacy and action.

2. Host or attend a Crude Awakening Event - To mark the one month anniversary of the tragedy, Energy Action Coalition is calling for people to host events to call for a clean and safe energy future.

3. Speak up for safer, cleaner energy choices - Tell your senators that now more than ever we need to pass comprehensive legislation that provides America with cleaner and safer energy choices.

4. Volunteer to aid in clean-up efforts - National Wildlife Federation is helping coordinate the on-the-ground volunteer effort, including NWF's Gulf Coast Surveillance Teams, which are being set up to monitor the coastline for wildlife in distress.

5. Text "WILDLIFE" to 20222 to Donate $10 - You can help wildlife threatened by the oil spill by donating via your mobile phone.  Your donation will support National Wildlife Federation's on-the-ground volunteer and restoration efforts.

6.  Help give a face to this tragedy - If you're on site at the disaster, or hosting an event to help response efforts share your pictures with our flickr account using the tag "spill_NW10"!