In March of 2006 National Geographic reported that BP had recently spilled 267,000 gallons of oil in the Alaskan tundra.

In July of 2007 the Chicago Tribune reported that BP will be exempted from Indiana environmental regulations to accommodate a 3.8 billion dollar plant expansion.  The exemption will allow BP to release 54 % more ammonia and 35% more sludge into Lake Michigan.

In 2005 the Multinational Monitor named BP one of the “ten worst corporations” based on its environmental and human rights records.

The song “Rape Me” was written in 1991.  The song was released on Nirvana’s 1993 album, In Utero.

In 1951 Iran nationalized its oil refineries effectively bankrupting the British oil company, Anglo-Iranian.  In 1953 President Eisenhower, with support from the Shah and the Iranian military, authorized the CIA to overthrow the Iranian government.  Following the coup, a consortium of outside oil companies took over all oil operations in Iran.  Anglo-Iranian became British Petroleum and received a 40% stake in Iranian oil.

The setting for a pastoral poem is its “locus amoenus”, meaning “beautiful place.”

The words “lemon” and “lime” both come from the Persian word “limu.”

Lemons and limes contain electrolytes and can therefore function as electrochemical cells converting chemical energy into electrical energy (in the same manner as a potato clock).  The fruit conducts electricity while keeping the zinc and copper ions separated forcing the electrons in the copper wire to move (generate current).  Approximately 7,000 fruits are required to generate enough electricity to power the lights and sound of this 1/5 scale model of a BP station. 

In 2000 British Petroleum changed its name to BP and introduced the “Helios” logo, modeled after a sunflower and named after the Greek sun-god.

In 2004, BP's solar division accounted for 0.14 percent of its total revenue.

Phaëton, the son of Helios, in order to prove to his friends that he truly was the son of the sun god, borrowed his father’s chariot, the sun.  But he lost control of the horses, ruining crops, turning most of Africa into desert, and burning the skin of the Ethiopians black before plunging to his death.

On August 23rd, 2007, following public outcry, BP announced it would not take advantage of the environmental exemptions allowed by the state of Indiana in pursuing its oil plant expansion.

The word “nirvana” comes from Sanskrit and literally means “to cease blowing.” 

At the core of BP is an unshakeable commitment to integrity, honest dealing, treating everyone with respect and dignity, striving for mutual advantage and contributing to human progress. Our products and services contribute to a better quality of life. They provide the freedom to move, to heat, to see. We believe this freedom is inseparable from the responsibility to produce and consume energy in ways that respect both human rights and the natural environment. Maintaining this balance is our life blood.

At the close of the exhibition, the wasted lemons and limes will be donated to the Department of Sanitation’s free composting program in Park Slope.  From the grove, the fruit will have required at least 111 gallons of gasoline to reach their final destination.