Hey gang, Gulf Oil Spill has its very own official BP/US gov. Facebook page!

What's the only thing that could possibly make the catastrophic Gulf oil spill any worse? Facebook! Here's a Facebook page launched by the joint U.S. and BP spill response team. So, what, we're supposed to hit the "Like" button? Related: BP's on Twitter. (via Tara)

• [BoydWaters]

  I suppose that all the cool kids are hating FaceBook right now, but it’s been key to coordinating volunteer efforts.

• [andreinla]

  Given that I am as pissed as everybody else, here’s a little reminder.

  No need to hit the Like button. Every time we fill up gas we pay with hour money to support whatever BP is doing. Giving someone money is the most authentic and powerful vote we have left as citizens.

  Thinking that BP is somehow worse than the rest of big oil is silly.

  Believing that BP was somehow better before the accident happened, is also illogical.

  The question is, how do we turn the anger into passion? What are legal, actionable steps to shift power away from big oil and towards eco-frendly energy?

  • [grimc]

    “What are legal, actionable steps to shift power away from big oil and towards eco-frendly energy?”

    Publicly financed elections.

    • [KanedaJones]

      andreinla

      “What are legal, actionable steps to shift power away from big oil and towards eco-frendly energy?”

      grimc

      “Publicly financed elections.”

      me

      “aaaaand hows that workin out for ya?”

• [Blackbird]

  12,781 people already like it…

  I really have nothing more to say.

• [Anonymous]

  Anyone interested in the Macondo Well spill (the official name for the Deepwater Horizon rig spill), or other aspects of offshore drilling should definitely check out the NOT THE ANSWER site being run by the Surfrider Foundation.

  These guys have been out in front of this issue for a few years now and have been one of the few non-profit organizations that have been successful in stopping drilling efforts in the U.S.

  http://www.nottheanswer.org

• [Joe]

  Facebook makes you click “Like” before you’re allowed to comment on what they used to call a fan page. So you have to say you like them before you can say that they are full of crap.

• [Anonymous]

  I think all that needs to be done in this case is applying appropriate pressure to make sure that BP is held FULLY liable for ALL damages – which includes but is not limited to

  - the full cost of the cleanup (returning the area to it’s original state)
  - paying back all costs born by government
  - fully compensating everyone negatively affected by the oil spill

  If that is done BP will be no more, it will bankrupt them.

  There shouldn’t be a problem summoning the political will, even in the US, to make that happen. Republicans may be pro-oil but if you ask them if the taxpayer should pick up the tab for oil company mistakes I don’t think even the Texas GOP will get in the way.

  • [Cicada]

    No problem. Of course, part of bankruptcy is going to involve selling off the company assets…so you’ll still have the oil platforms, just with one fewer company running them.

• [btb]

  +1 BoydWaters

  No, it’s not the cool thing anymore, but I’m on Facebook like everyone else, and I know if I lived in the area, I’d definitely be hitting that like button because I happen to like getting timely information about important events.

• [Patrick Austin]

  Look! Another totally average amoral organization with a ham-fisted PR department that hasn’t yet figured out how to win over the Internet crowd.

• [Teller]

  Facebook is the darling of ad folks and clients. Cheaper than radio and “interactive” so you can form a relationship with Mars Candy bars. Everyone will just follow high schoolers to the next thing.

• [Pantograph]

  Most compelling argument for a “hate” button on FB yet.

• [bkad]

  I agree with those who are suggesting that this is no big deal and just reflects that facebook is relevant and useful communication tool these days. It looks like most of the updates are links to press releases, independent news reports, and useful forms/contact information. Would you rather they didn’t create a facebook page? That’d be pretty weird.

• [Anonymous]

  I’m probably going to regret this: I understand the anger at the situation, but why the anger at BP? The are responsible, but from what I’ve heard so far, there’s no reason to think they’re at fault — i.e. they took more than reasonable precautions, had multiple failsafes in place, and that this is a freak accident. Maybe though I missed the news where they were found negligent; I’m not following this on a daily basis.

  As far as facebook goes, it would be stranger if they didn’t use the dominant comunications channel of our age. Whould you rather they didn’t have a facebook page? Or is facebook membership limited only to people you like?

  • [grimc]

    BP Fought Safety Measures at Deepwater Oil Rigs = willful negligence.

  • [KanedaJones]

    don’t drill wells deeper than you know how to emergency cap. hows that for a responsibility issue..

• [Anonymous]

  I am an employee of the DOI. This is verbatim a message I received in regards to this group:

  “DOI has multiple efforts underway to manage both information and support for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

  To facilitate communication during this disaster, the DOI CIO has granted an exception for the entire Department of the Interior to access the following social networking site:

  http://www.facebook.com/DeepwaterHorizonResponse”

  It appears this is more utilizing already extant communications streams instead of trying to establish new ones.

• [Anonymous]

  I just used the link at left and reported it as SPAM :)