While the world’s largest single oil spill has been dominating headlines for the past weeks, the deleterious effects of our petro-gluttony have been longstanding. A couple examples to think about:

• Ecological harm and environmental injustice are part of regular petroleum extraction, not just massive newsworthy oil spills. From Adam Nossiter of the New York Times:

The Niger Delta, where the wealth underground is out of all proportion with the poverty on the surface, has endured the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill every year for 50 years by some estimates. The oil pours out nearly every week, and some swamps are long since lifeless. [Read the full article]

• America’s overuse of petroleum leads to geopolitical conflict, national insecurity, and bloated defense budgets. Read Michael Klare’s book Blood and Oil, or watch the trailer for the film version:

Politicians and the public in the United States need to take responsibility for the environmental and social externalities of oil consumption. Paying five dollars per gallon at the pump, and accordingly being more conscientious about our energy choices, is far better than paying hundreds of billions of dollars worth in human deaths, ecological destruction, and the misadventures of our military as what Klare terms a “global oil protection service.” If we don’t accept the realities of the high costs of oil, rather than trying to hide these costs behind a long string of violent, imperialist conflicts, we’re in for a disastrous future.

The producers of RENEWAL, the groundbreaking documentary film that is inspiring diverse faith communities across the country to take action for the environment, have launched a new venture.

Producer Marty Ostrow says, “The RENEWAL Web Festival is the perfect way to share your engagement in the religious-environmental movement. We’re inviting people to submit their own stories: videos, writings, photos, drawings, and poems.”

Ostrow explains, “We especially hope to hear about  how commitment to the environment has affected your experience of faith.”

Entries will be posted on the RENEWAL Project website, in coming weeks.

Read the producers’ Invitation and visit the RENEWAL website to learn how you can submit your own stories about renewal of the earth and renewal of faith.

YouTube user skyanimal has footage of a workshop run by California EPA on environmental justice in Imperial County.

This is what the brave firefighters get, who risked their own lives trying to save millions?  This is what they get for finding survivors, limited health care?

A video produced by greenRELAY about EYCEJ’s Goods Movement Toxic Tour:

The Future of Food, a compelling documentary about where our food comes from, is available to watch in its entirety on Hulu: