Now we have their attention!

Major Big Oil players-- with the notable exception of BP-- have pooled resources to give the appearance of concern regarding potential future spills in the Gulf. At the same time, they're lobbying Congress to avoid stricter regulations in the wake of the Gulf disaster.

It's all in the name of profits, of course (they use the term "risk management") and it's a clear sign-- at $1 billion, it's quite clear-- that they're nervous about the public outcry over BP's arrogance and incompetence. That arrogant idiocy also explains why Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips did not include the beleaguered British company in this PR gesture, though almost certainly BP will buy their way in later, to regain some face.)

The Big Four are doubtless anticipating the usual turn of events after such environmental assaults: that the public outcry will eventually die out and they may resume their predatory, deadly practices with their usual impunity. And I expect this sequence will indeed unfold in this case as well, though (I hope) not quite as quickly as it did with the Valdez disaster.

But never forget that we have at our disposal the single most powerful tool anyone can wield against these giants: reduced demand. If applied collectively, substantial reductions in demand are the one thing corporations cannot readily defend against. We all know by now that we must get off the juice. Begin today: take an alternate method of transportation on just one of your daily trips. Do it again tomorrow and tell a friend what you are doing and you will begin to set in motion a tool so powerful that even the Exxon Mobils of the world will be brought to heel.