AcTIVIST SPOTLIGHT

Vuvuzelas for BP: Fighting Oil Pollution With Noise Pollution

What do anti-oil-spill activists and diehard soccer enthusiasts have in common? Thanks to Brooklyn-based web-video producer Adam Quirk, vuvuzelas. The long horns that fans toot during the World Cup make a noise many find deeply annoying — and that’s what Quirk counted on after the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill, when he came up with “Vuvuzelas for BP,” an unusual project to pester the company, help publicize its wrongdoings and raise money for Gulf efforts at the same time.

On July 13, 2010, after a lot of work by Quirk and big support from the public and social-media world, the project became reality. That morning, a pack of people — some volunteers, some hired through Craigslist — donned yellow shirts, gathered outside BP’s international headquarters in London and tooted vuvuzelas until they could toot no more (and only then because they were stopped by law enforcement). Mainly through internet outreach, the project raised $6,084 for the Center’s Gulf Disaster Fund — more than $4,000 above Quirk’s original $2,000 goal.

“We’ve kind of already won at this point,” said Quirk at the conclusion of the project. “It’s about keeping BP in the public eye, keeping attention on them. Unless there’s public pressure on them, they’re going to be allowed to slip through the cracks.”

Learn more and watch videos of the vuvuzela-blowing action, Quirk discussing the project and the Center’s Jennifer Shepherd on how our Gulf Disaster Fund is helping save the Gulf and stop destructive offshore drilling.

Learn the latest on the Gulf disaster.

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