To the editor:

The Gulf Coast oil disaster, reportedly the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history, of course, is big news. The images of polluted beaches and poisoned wildlife are heartbreaking, as is the plight of those who have made their living from the Gulf, sometimes for generations. We follow the seemingly inexorable progression of the “spill” via 24-hour news coverage. The attention of the American public is riveted on these tragic events.

Until now the oil spills in the rest of the world dwarfed those at home. Like the guns and drug money we send to Mexico, we mostly outsource the risks of oil production.

But is the disaster in the Gulf big enough to cause us to consume less oil, to drive less, to drive slower, to buy locally produced food and goods, to place fuel efficiency at the top of the list of considerations for purchasing a vehicle? Have enough troops died in the Middle East that we will agree to give up some of the convenience and ease that oil provides? Have enough coal miners died that we will change our notion of what uses for electricity are “necessary”?

I have little confidence that U.S. citizens will make such a sacrifice just because it is a good thing to do. Those who are truly frightened and outraged by this disaster should call on our elected representatives to drop politics and make the tough decisions necessary to achieve a major reduction in our current profligate use of oil.

Joe Douglas,

Lawrence