SEATTLE - May 14 - Due to the recent Ecotrocities in the Gulf of Mexico, the Backbone Campaign is instigating a rolling creative action in Seattle tomorrow - Friday, May 14, from 8:30am-1pm. The events are part of a national mobilization called by Rising Tide.

As the country recoils in horror at the news that not 1,000 - not 5,000 - but perhaps 25,000 barrels of oil per day are gushing into ocean waters poisoning the Gulf of Mexico, it is imperative that citizens of the US and the planet take immediate action. We stand in shock, appalled at the unfolding, unprecedented, and totally avoidable defilement of the Gulf of Mexico and connected ecosystems.

It is unforgivable that our environment has been put in such jeopardy by our elected officials, agencies, and the extractive corporations who place power and profit before all else. It is time to shift the national dialogue away from Wall Street dependent solutions, self-regulation and time to call for true governmental and corporate accountability as well as assess fossil fuels for their true cost.

We accept our shared responsibility as consumers and citizens within this society. But our choices have been impaired by regressive public policy. Only bold action that invests in our society's rapid transition away from the current folly of a fossil fuel based economy is required and overdue.

On Friday we will lead by example and call on our elected representatives to exercise their full power and capacity to:

• Guarantee that BP America Inc. and its collaborating companies Halliburton, and Transocean be held to full account for the ecological atrocities they have committed; that their corporate charters be revoked; and their assets be dedicated to healing the damage they have caused and the transition to a fossil fuel free future.
• That offshore drilling be banned and the other ecologically dangerous exploration and extractive activities be reassessed with a more realistic assessment of their potential to do harm.
• Introduce a CARBON TAX and REFUND bill into the current US Congress and tirelessly support such legislation to ensure that fossil fuels be assessed at their true cost. (Model legislation can be found at www.CARBONTAX.ORG and more explanation below.)
• That local officials and WA State legislators stop allowing banks, utilities, and power companies to dictate and stonewall aggressive transition to clean renewable energy development.

We invite you to witness our visually rich presentations tomorrow throughout the city of Seattle. Photos of a recent Boulder, CO action using Backbone Campaign skills and imagery can be seen HERE.