The nuclear meltdown in Japan and the recent oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico may seem unrelated, but they’re not. Both catastrophes occurred because we’ve made three fundamental mistakes in the way we generate energy.

1) We have relied on centralized power plants that use dangerous fuels to meet energy demand. Most countries that can afford it build large power plants so they can centralize energy production. Big centralized power plants are easier to regulate than a bunch of smaller, dispersed facilities. And because they generate a lot of energy at once, big plants appear to streamline power production. But in addition to being outrageously expensive, centralized generating facilities require massive amounts of dangerous fuels to operate consistently. If that fuel is oil or coal, recovering it usually wrecks the physical environment (we saw that in spades during last year’s Gulf Oil disaster); burning it causes global warming and sickening air pollution. If the fuel is uranium, using it generates radioactive nuclear waste that must be stored for thousands of years.

Ironically, a significant percent of the energy these kinds of plants generate is lost because it’s distributed over old, inefficient powerlines that transport the energy far from the original generator, which means that the plants actually need to consume more fuel to meet demand. Centralized power stations are also highly susceptible to terrorism, human error, and natural disasters, like the Japanese tsunami that overwhelmed that country’s nuclear reactors. As long as we continue to rely on large centralized power generation stoked by fossil fuels or uranium, we should expect disasters like the current meltdown in Japan.

2) We depend on fuels whose devastating environmental and health impacts are overlooked because they generate so much money for the industries that control them.

Right now, oil costs almost $100 a barrel. Solar energy is free. And there’s the rub. Industries based on selling coal, oil, and uranium, the fuel that powers nuclear power plants, earn billions of dollars every year just selling the fuel, let alone the power it generates. They use the profits from those sales to lobby legislators and make huge campaign contributions that keep law makers beholden to the status quo rather than emboldened to support safer alternatives.

I’m not suggesting we figure out a way to charge for the sun’s rays. I’m suggesting we realize that, every time we use oil or coal or energy from a nuclear power plant, some portion of our dollars is being used to insure that we KEEP using oil and coal and nuclear energy, instead of cleaner, healthier options.

3) We have refused to embrace energy efficiency and renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Many people give “alternative energy” positive lip service. Most people think sun power sounds like a good idea. Just as many will acknowledge that they want to do more to save energy. Yet the majority who talk the talk don’t walk the walk. Municipal codes still allow homes and buildings to be built that leak energy like a sieve. Consumers are still buying far more gas-guzzling vehicles and appliances than their energy-efficient counterparts. As a nation, we subsidize the fossil fuel and nuclear industries by giving them substantial tax breaks, yet scrimp on providing essential research and development money to renewable alternatives. Each of us could probably reduce the amount of energy we consume by half while taking advantage of any programs our utilties offer to let us buy power that’s safely generated. Until we do, and governments and businesses follow suit, the situation won’t change.

There aren’t enough words to describe what’s happened in Japan. Horrible. Catastrophic. Terrible. Unimaginable.

But there are also words we shouldn’t use to describe what’s transpired: Unique. Isolated. Rare. Freak accident.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Disasters like the Japanese nuclear meltdown and the Gulf oil spill are going to become increasingly common unless we make a concerted global effort to change the way we all get and use energy.

The post Nuclear disaster in Japan, oil disaster in the Gulf. What’s next? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Here’s a list of groups that need your help. If you’re already volunteering in person, please let us know where you’re working and what you’re doing.

If you can send money, these groups sure could use it:

Gulf Restoration Network – Sign up to volunteer or donate, and send a message to BP.

Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund – 100 percent of all donations to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund will be granted to organizations working tirelessly in the effected areas. Their specific focus is to help fishermen and their families in the following Louisiana parishes: Plaquemines, St. Bernard, lower Jefferson, Terrebonne, and Lafourche.

Gulf Coast Fund – The Fund is giving grants directly to local environmental and community groups working to clean up the damage and document the impact the disaster is having on wetlands, shore birds, marine life, and the families living in the area.

International Bird Rescue Research Center –  A team of 40 bird rescue specialists (see photo, above) has been deployed to the Gulf Coast disaster site to help rescue seabirds caught in the oil.

Text to Give – Mad Mobile and mGive have partnered to make it easy to donate to The Waterkeepers Alliance and SaveOurGulf.org. Text GULF to 50555 to donate $10; 100 percent of donations will support the efforts these groups are making to reduce the impacts of the oil on wetlands and wildlife.

The post If You Can’t Help the Gulf in Person, Send Money. appeared first on Big Green Purse.

It will do absolutely no good to boycott BP if you keep buying oil and gas from someone else. BP’s oil, along with everyone else’s, is sold on the world market, not just to BP stations. Local gas stations are usually owned by entrepreneurs in your community, not by BP. They sell gas that comes from a variety of sources, not just their namesake. So as a consumer, even if you boycott a BP station, you’re not necessarily boycotting gas produced by BP. Likewise, if you buy gas from a different station, you could be buying BP gas.

Plus: is there any “good” gas?  Are there any “good” oil companies? Is Exxon, responsible for what was previously the largest oil spill in U.S. history, better than BP? What about Shell, a company known for its horrid human rights violations? Or Chevron, which has been sued for polluting pristine rainforest in Ecuador?

Take a look at the photo (above, left) from AP photographer Charlie Riedel. It’s a bird, but that’s about all we can tell, it’s been so mired in oil.

Sadly, it’s a perfect metaphor for our economy.

Want to change it?

Drive less, for starters. Here’s how.

The post Mad at BP? Skip the Boycott. Stop Driving. appeared first on Big Green Purse.