Dolphin head at Grand Isle, LA Copyright ©Jerry Moran
My friend Georgianne Nienaber is on the scene on the Gulf Coast in Louisiana. She's posted several reports at The Huffington Post on the conditions there and the progress in containing and cleaning up the oil in the water, in the marshes, and on the beaches.
"We are allowing them (BP) to play with our livelihood here!"
Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, was almost stuttering to Anderson Cooper an hour after President Obama's address to the nation from the Oval Office. 58 days after the catastrophic explosion aboard the Transocean/Deepwater Horizon, and the subsequent release of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, there is still no coherent plan to shut down the leak, contain the oil, or respond to the damage done to the environment. There is a new estimate of up to 60,000 barrels a day flow rate. No one believes the numbers BP is providing anymore, and it is stunning that the President is willing to do so.
Read Georgianne's post and compare and contrast with President Obama's speech last night.
Links to Georgianne's other recent posts on conditions on the Louisiana coast may be found here.
You may want to have a look at other photos on the coastal areas by Jerry Moran, whose photo above is used with permission.
oh, dear, I couldn't even tell what that was a photo of. It's horrible.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it's still ongoing is beyond a nightmare, really.
Cathy, did you get that those participating in the clean-up are not disposing of the dead animals properly? The carcasses should go to the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries to be documented. They should not be buried in the sand.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Mimi
ReplyDeleteGeorgianne, we hear from a man we know who runs a boat under contract to BP, who says that when he's not being sent on wild goose chases, his boat sits idle. He was originally told that his boat was perfect for skimming oil, but he's never skimmed.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised and want to come back down in a few weeks (heading north tonight for my daughter's birthday) and follow up. Right now I am in a motel lobby in Mobile filled with absolutely intoxicated BP workers. I am off duty (on orders from myself) and will not follow up on these guys in Mobile..just sayin'
ReplyDelete(keep some notes for me!)
It is a crime what they AREN'T doing! The saddest thing is their statement, "We are allowing them (BP) to play with our livelihood here!" They aren't only playing with your livelihoods but from every facet of your lives!
ReplyDeleteCathy, did you get that those participating in the clean-up are not disposing of the dead animals properly?
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't get that, as a matter of fact - but I am not really surprised. BP have no respect for anything, obviously, including due process, the environment, safety measures, public health or the livelihood of people round the Gulf, so it would be unlikely to find them treating the corpses of dead animals properly.