Over 600 thousand people have joined a site created in the social networking site Facebook calling for a nationwide boycott of gas stations in British Petroleum (BP), as a pressure for the company to help those affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
This was announced today told the ABC television network Lee Perkins, a videographer in the area of Shreveport, La., he explained, is "outraged" by what happens in the area following the explosion of an oil platform on April 20 .
The site, which calls for a national boycott against other brands such as Castrol BP, Arco, Aral and Amoco, has today a total of 603 000 116 people.
Perkins has never before been involved in environmental issues or any kind of activism but, in his view, the oil giant must pay explanations and, above all, help individuals and businesses affected by the oil spill.
According to Perkins, the page you created in Facebook is working and receiving numerous reports of empty gas stations, and people used to share pictures, news and other reports on the disaster.
He added that BP, the fourth largest corporation in the world, and third in the category energy sector, "has a lot of money" and should compensate not only those who live by fishing, but also to employees of the tourism sector in the area.
"The fishermen in the south are suffering. ... They have lost their jobs, perhaps forever," said Perkins.
Asked about the impact it would boycott the franchise owners of BP, Perkins found that the stations may join with other companies.
"We too have lost our jobs here. BP should be for us to be compensated for that," stated Perkins.
The U.S. government, under intense political pressure to manage the crisis, BP plans to call formally on Wednesday the creation of a multibillion-dollar fund to help individuals and businesses affected by the spill.
