Update: Contacts at SCAQMD told me that BP has fixed its leaky valve problems, and developed a program for doing so effectively that is now being used at Texas oil refineries. Change for the positive.
For information on how your company can go green and get wide publicity www.gogreenpr.com
Below is what was going on before with BP.
I wrote this piece before doing adequate research. Upon further reflection of lawsuits against BP for thousands of safety violations, excess air pollution and WAY under reporting toxic leakage, I now see their eco-friendly gas station as solely a publicity stunt, taking attention away from what I believe are their crimes against humanity.
In this fast paced world with so much going on, it's easy--not excusable--to overlook what's really going on. Many times we must scratch below the surface, ask questions from a variety of sources to piece together a semblence of truth.
Here's the mistake, I, as well as others wrote about recently.
Cutting edge earth-friendly design.
Yeah!
What is it?
The latest green building?
Innovative wind or hydrogen power plant?
Or....
A BP gas station.
A gas station.
An oxymoron? Aren't they promoting pollution?
BP created the first eco-gas station in America.
So why is a new innovate gas station that promotes environmental-friendliness, recently constructed at the busy intersection of Robertson and Olympic in Los Angeles, taking flack from reporters and bloggers?
The 90 solar panel rooftop boasts low energy lighting below, and comes equipped with recycled material in its floor's concrete, and the station's "green team" will check drivers' tire pressure to ensure they get the best gas mileage.
For more information on this eco-friendly gas station, check out Elizabeth Doughlass's L.A. Times article: http://www.latimes.com/wireless/avantgo/la-fi-cleangas21feb21,0,5916854.story
Personally, I think steps in the right direction are worthwhile and deserve to be noted.
The oil industry didn't infiltrate our society overnight, and it's not disappearing overnight either.
We all need to take small steps in the right direction.
And, hopefully, at some point the right innovative new energy technologies will coelesce and... Voila!... we'll be energy independent and free of unnecessary carbon emissions polluting our air. Kind of like Malcolm Gladwell might have suggested in his book, The Tipping Point.
Until then, let's give credit to any company that genuinely takes steps in the right direction.
I did a bit of research on BP (British Petroleum) and, in addition to oil production, they are leaders in investing billions in alternative energy development.
Here's a blurb I found on them:
BP is also BO (Big Oil). It is the world's second largest integrated oil concern, behind Exxon Mobil. The company, which was formed in 1998 from the merger of British Petroleum and Amoco, grew by buying Atlantic Richfield Company. BP has proved reserves of 18.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, including large holdings in Alaska. BP is the largest oil and gas producer in the US and also a top refiner, processing 2.8 million barrels of crude oil per day. BP operates about 28,500 gas stations worldwide, including 15,900 in the US.
With the success of its BP Solar International subsidiary, BP has created BP Alternative Energy (hydrogen, solar, and wind power generation) with an initial investment of $1.8 billion.
Again, let's give credit that they're going in the right direction.
The oil story is intricate, fascinating, and I recommend the book The Prize: The Epic Quest For Oil, Money and Power by Daniel Yergin for anyone truly interested in understanding how the oil business was born, how it works, and how dependent we are on it for so many of our daily life chores that we currently take for granted.
By the way, I just wrote this sitting next to an electric light. Yes, my life is eased with the illumination of artificial light. I can see in an otherwise dark apartment.
It's night time in Los Angeles.
Are you reading this next to your electric light, candles, or during daylight hours?
More on this winning book, The Prize, later...
If you play golf, I recommend the beautiful Temecula Creek Inn. 
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