Choosing Gas Stations
Jun. 27th, 2008 11:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebNot only did Exxon get out of paying for the damage that occurred in the Exxon-Valdez spill and not only have they put off paying their fine for almost ten years, but the Supreme Court just reduced that tiny inadequate fine by 80%. I am so angered by this that I decided want to do whatever it takes to make sure that company does not get any of my money.
I know that means don't buy gas at Exxon and don't buy gas at Mobile. It probably also means to avoid HEB and Walmart because I don't know who they buy their gas from.
But then I wondered whether any of the other gas companies are any better? Or are they all equally slimy but less spectacularly newsworthy? So I decided to do some research.
This turned out to be not so easy. But I did find the Sierra Club's Pick Your Poison: An Updated Environmentalist's Guide to Gasoline. According to them, they are all slimy. Getting gas is inherently a little slimy, and companies can't help being at least a little slimier than they have to be. They are just so huge, they are bound to include some slimy elements. So reducing gas consumption is, of course, the best strategy.
But gas companies are not all equally slimy. Based on what I learned there, I decided I should favor gas stations owned by Sunoco. I don't think there are any in my town. Sunoco stations are also called Utra and APlus, and I don't think we have any of those, either.
The Sierra Club likes BP also, but I think I like Shell second-best. Both are responsible for some nasty atrocities, and Shell's seem slimier (more on purpose). But then I like that Shell has significantly reduced its greenhouse gas emissions, is working on how to maintain biodiversity in oil and gas development, and has been developing alternative fuels since 2000.
But then the linked article, the earlier Pick Your Poison: An Environmentalist's Guide to Gasoline, has nice data on refining records. Shell's looks horrible. The best-looking ones to me are Sunoco and Chevron (which has since merged with Texaco, which looks not so great).
I think I have seen BP and Shell gas stations in my town. I'm not sure where a BP station is, but there is a Shell right near my house (although the local Texaco is much nicer).
Any thoughts on these issues?
I know that means don't buy gas at Exxon and don't buy gas at Mobile. It probably also means to avoid HEB and Walmart because I don't know who they buy their gas from.
But then I wondered whether any of the other gas companies are any better? Or are they all equally slimy but less spectacularly newsworthy? So I decided to do some research.
This turned out to be not so easy. But I did find the Sierra Club's Pick Your Poison: An Updated Environmentalist's Guide to Gasoline. According to them, they are all slimy. Getting gas is inherently a little slimy, and companies can't help being at least a little slimier than they have to be. They are just so huge, they are bound to include some slimy elements. So reducing gas consumption is, of course, the best strategy.
But gas companies are not all equally slimy. Based on what I learned there, I decided I should favor gas stations owned by Sunoco. I don't think there are any in my town. Sunoco stations are also called Utra and APlus, and I don't think we have any of those, either.
The Sierra Club likes BP also, but I think I like Shell second-best. Both are responsible for some nasty atrocities, and Shell's seem slimier (more on purpose). But then I like that Shell has significantly reduced its greenhouse gas emissions, is working on how to maintain biodiversity in oil and gas development, and has been developing alternative fuels since 2000.
But then the linked article, the earlier Pick Your Poison: An Environmentalist's Guide to Gasoline, has nice data on refining records. Shell's looks horrible. The best-looking ones to me are Sunoco and Chevron (which has since merged with Texaco, which looks not so great).
I think I have seen BP and Shell gas stations in my town. I'm not sure where a BP station is, but there is a Shell right near my house (although the local Texaco is much nicer).
Any thoughts on these issues?