Remember if you shop or Buy Gas at AM/PM you are supporting BP. which means you are directly

[ORDagnabbit]

responsible for the continuation of them as corporation so they can continue to kill our oceans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am/pm

[jaksavage]

1. If you use petroleum

you are part of the problem...
The enemy is us.

[taterguy]

2. So where can I buy gas at a place that doesn't kill our oceans?

[demosincebirth]

3. Buy Organic.

[jp11]

11. Make your own.

[KamaAina]

4. I have also heard that some BP stations are rebranding as Arco

the BP subsidiary that has am/pm stores at its locations.

Well, there goes the one and only convenience store in my neighborhood, although it's so crappy I call it "Fail Mart".

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. On the other hand, if you're buying your gas from the more expensive place across the street...

you're giving more money to some other giant faceless petroleum corporation.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. You know most gas stations... even BP Stations... are private owner/operated?

By boycotting BP, your putting small local business owners and employees on the opposing front line.

In fact, if you think you can hurt BP's bottom line ... BP supplies 80% of the Defense Depts oil needs.
Per capita oil usage: the U.S. Department of Defense ranks 4th in the world (behind three actual nations)

According to HuffPo:

"It's not as linear as we might like to think," Davies says, because most people assume there's a metaphorical pipeline that runs from BP wells to BP stations. "They don't make a lot of money selling their own gasoline to their own stations."

In fact, BP spokesman David Nicholas says all of the company's 11,700 filling stations in the U.S. have been sold off in recent years and are now independently owned and operated. "We supply the fuels and branding. That's it," he says.

[elocs]

7. What's important is to make the boycotters feel good about their action, not that it's effective.

Yes, a lot of regular and little people who are just trying to make a living get hurt by such a boycott while not hurting BP much at all, but that's a small price to pay for allowing some people to feel noble and self righteous about their actions.

[emilyg]

8. Amen. I will not boycott.

[elocs]

12. It would be easy for me to self righteously claim I would boycott BP stations

since there are none in my area anyways.

But if there were and I did regularly patronize the BP station that was close to me and knew the people who worked there by name, maybe enjoying little conversations with them over time, how would I feel if I found out that my participating in a meaningless boycott of BP stations caused them to be laid off?

Yes, the unintended consequence of boycotting BP stations is to hurt the little people who are struggling to get by without ever really hurting BP at all. But there are some people who just don't care.

[ORDagnabbit]

9. I could be like you and sit on the side lines and throw snide comments out.

but I dont care if its small business people.....its the idea of making choices with your life.

choose to not drive
choose to eat local and shop local
choose to speak out in person at wrongs
choose to let people know their choices have consequences


or choose to sit behind a computer screen and do nothing but whine.

[elocs]

10. My comment specifically about boycotting BP stations is exactly right.

If business slows down it is the little people who suffer first, the workers who are just struggling to get by who get laid off, maybe the 3rd shift is just eliminated. All of this as a result of a boycott of BP stations that does not really hurt BP at all, but is more about the boycotters feeling good about their actions.

Yes, choices have consequences and it is stupid to make choices that hurt the little people without hurting BP. So flush away the little people and the small businesses if you choose because that is your choice. I have more empathy than that. Your "I don't care" says it all.

[emilyg]

14. Well put.

[TexasObserver]

13. Don't pay any attention to the naysayers.

Most of them have no idea how a franchise agreement works, and certainly have no idea how much of every dollar BP gets that the BP centers cash flow. BP makes money directly from all sales and by pushing its product lines.

As with all big companies, you hurt them by not doing business with them. The meme "but you're hurting the business people who own BP centers" is just another company promoted line. When someone gets in bed with BP, they take the bad with the good, and this is the bad.

[NeedleCast]

15. Which super-national oil corporation should I be buying my gas from?