WEEP FOR RACCOON ISLAND

This Royal Tern was rescued, after we discovered it and alerted officials. It was so weak, and from its ordeal that I seriously doubt that it survived. Photo by Drew Wheelan



The picture on the left shows Drew Wheelan, the conservation coordinator for the American Birding Association, who writes at The Gulf Coast Oil Spill blog, which is managed by the American Birding Association.

Drew writes about Raccoon Island:

I continue to be baffled by the decisions being made by the response effort as it concerns wildlife. A most distressing situation that illustrates just how ineffective and poorly managed the response has been is that of the multi-species nesting colony on Raccoon Island. Known to many locals as Last Island, this 5 km. long island in the Isles Deniers chain in Terrebonne Bay contains one of the largest populations of nesting seabirds in the state of Louisiana, including thousands of Brown Pelicans, Louisiana's State Bird. One would assume that being such an important resource for local wildlife that it would be indentified as en extreme priority for protection and monitoring.
....

Raccoon Island, one of the most densely populated islands with birds in the entire state was left with one layer of deflective inner harbor type boom, which was completely useless against the waves and the wind from a storm in early July. As of last Friday, day 94, this boom was still piled high up on the beach, having been washed ashore with the same oil that drenched a large number of birds, an event that was brought to light by Cornell University biologists studying the colony. Had Tropical Storm Bonnie been stronger and hit Louisiana’s coast, Raccoon Island would have been utterly defenseless against the likely incursion of crude that would have been brought in with the waves as it lacked any boom at all. It makes no sense that this island was not identified as a higher priority, and now we are seeing massive effects which have been documented by New Orleans photographer Jerry Moran on his website.
....

From my journal, July 22, 2010, Day 93

"Yesterday I saw huge tracts of marshland in Barataria Bay with the thickest oil I have seen yet, and no clean up effort underway. We also saw a ribbon of fresh oil flowing into the marshlands, ten miles inside the bay. The wide swath of oil was over a mile long and so noxious that my throat still burns from the fumes. A small boat was present, but no skimmers were working to contain the oil, though we had passed many such boats, anchored in the bay before we found this oil. It is quite frankly, absolutely infuriating to hear the claims by BP that they are working to clean the Gulf. The efforts here are little more than a disorganized circus, and the fact that many birds are experiencing a respite from direct heavy oiling owes itself to nothing more than the weather, and the toxic dispersants having kept the Louisiana Crude from the shores. (My emphasis)

Drew's entire post is well worth reading, after which you will weep. I've had the link to Drew's post for several days, thanks to my friend Georgianne Nienaber at The Huffington Post, who has done her part in trying to tell the story of the perilous state of wildlife in the Gulf and on the coastline, but, in truth, I couldn't bear to write, because my heart was broken after reading it, which I realize makes me one sorry-assed reporter. All Drew's information is so very disheartening, especially in light of the dumbass statement by Thad Allen, retired head of the US Coast Guard, the present director of the federal government's response team.

Even though the leak stopped, oil likely will continue to hit the coastline and barrier islands for the next four to six weeks, Allen said.

Excuse my language about Allen's statement, but I couldn't help myself. As I said in my post:

"...for the next four to six weeks"! And that will be the end of the oil? To read those words spoken by the person in charge, a Coast Guardsman, at that, is chilling.

WE'LL BE LEFT BEHIND

from the Baton Rouge Advocate:

With the permanent sealing of BP’s ruptured oil well expected in the next two weeks, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen plans to begin discussions today with parish leaders on how and when the thousands of response workers and the vast amount of oil cleanup equipment will be scaled back.

“One of the reasons we’re here is to start a conversation with local leaders about how we transition from a response posture,” said Allen, who is in charge of the federal response to the leak. “Once the well is capped, what remains to be done?”

Allen said he plans to have “frank, open” discussions with parish leaders about what the federal government can do and what its requirements are, he said during a Wednesday news conference in New Orleans.
....

Even though the leak stopped, oil likely will continue to hit the coastline and barrier islands for the next four to six weeks, Allen said. (My emphasis)

He based that estimate on how long it took for oil slicks to make it to shore after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded April 20 about 50 miles offshore.

Allen noted it is becoming more difficult to find oil.

“We’re seeing less and less oil, and the oil that we do see is weathered, it’s sheen, and sometimes it’s not that effective to skim it,” he said.

"...for the next four to six weeks"! And that will be the end of the oil? To read those words spoken by the person in charge, a Coast Guardsman, at that, is chilling.

Parish and state officials have said they’re concerned about how and when the response effort will be scaled back.

Billy Nungesser, Plaquemines Parish president, said Wednesday he is concerned the federal government and BP are going to end the response program too soon.

Nungesser is not the only one concerned.

“It is going to be a new fight from here on out,” he told members of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority at a meeting Wednesday in Baton Rouge. “There’s oil all over Plaquemines Parish this morning.”
....

Nungesser said he spent a day fighting with the Coast Guard and BP to keep equipment in place for fear it would not be returned after the storm.

“Why should I have to fight? They should be coming to me and saying, ‘Billy, what more can I do,’ ” he said.

But that would be in a civilized country.

I expect that the "conversations" with federal officials will not involve much listening on their part. They've declared the job done, although saying it is so will not make it so. An inadequate crew of people with inadequate equipment will remain to attempt an impossible task.

SHOPPING, GAMES, AND SCREENSAVERS

Today, I took my grandchildren shopping for school uniforms. We have a great store here in Thibodaux, The New Store, although it's not really new. The service is excellent. The staff know what the rules are for each school, how long the skirt must be, etc., and they do it all, except the customer pays the bill, which turns out to be close to astronomical.

Afterward, we went shopping for a baby gift for young friends of ours who have a new baby girl. My granddaughter introduced me to a neat new shop in town, and she helped me pick out the gifts, so that's done. I like to give my business to folks who have the courage to open up a small store in this age of the big box stores, and I was pleased to see that the shop had a good bit of traffic.

When the kids and I returned to our house, we played MONOTONOUS, which is only fun when I play with my grandchildren. The game in the picture is the very same set that I played with my children. Perhaps it's a collector's item by now, although the box is not in perfect condition, as you see with the taped corners.

My granddaughter was on my computer for a while, and when I turned it back on after they left, I said, "What! My eyes!". She'd left me with the screensaver pictured below. Oh, no. I called her, but she didn't answer her phone. I fiddled around and finally got the screensaver changed to something more peaceful. She'd also left me with a header colored iridescent pink and green. Oh no, again, but I couldn't figure out how to change the color of the header. When I finally got GD on the phone, I said, "You changed my settings! I asked you not to do that." She said, "They were a present. I thought you would like them." And then, I felt bad. I still feel bad. Oh well. No undoing what's done. My expertise on computers is lame compared to theirs, and what they change, I don't often don't know how to change back.




UPATE: The picture above shows wallpaper, not a screensaver. You see? I do not even know the terminology.

STORY OF THE DAY - UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

I try to use unconditional love in small
amounts, she said, so people really
appreciate it. The rest of the time I just
try not to yell.

From StoryPeople.

BISHOP KATHARINE AT ST. PAUL'S IN LONDON

From Bishop Katharine's sermon:

... [When we Christians fish for people] [t]he goal is a healed society where all have the dignity that comes of right relationship with God and neighbour. We usually call it the reign of God, or the common weal of God. That commonweal of God work is a prophetic vocation, often deeply unpopular and challenging, and born of the dream that dignity for all is a deeply divine warrant. That kind of prophetic witness, in both word and deed, is what made Jesus so offensive to the powers at hand.
...
Dignity means a sense of worth, suitability, or honour, and it is the state in which God created all that is. The indignities came later. One of the eucharistic prayers in the Episcopal church's prayer book says that we have been created worthy to stand in God's presence. When we treat others as less than that, we reject God's good creation, and in a very real sense, we deny our own dignity. Prophetic work helps to restore the dignity of creation, and acknowledges that creation reflects the utter dignity of the creator. We get in trouble when we limit dignity to lesser things, or deny dignity to some....

Lovely words to remind us what we are to be about if we call ourselves Christians - followers of Jesus.

Thanks to John Chilton at The Lead for the excerpt from the sermon. John does a compare and contrast that you may want to check out.

Photo from Episcopal Life.

WELCOME TO ST. MATTHEW-IN-THE-CITY

Wonderful ark banner from St. Matthew-in-the-City in Auckland, New Zealand. The church's website is eye-catching, inviting, colorful, and informative. Makes you want to hang around and explore - which I did.

And after further exploring, I'd say St. Matthew's website is fabulous, and the church community sounds lovely, too.

As usual, click on the picture for the larger view.

Thanks to Lapin for the picture.

I'M GETTING NUMB

From NOLA:

A leaking oil wellhead in lower Jefferson Parish could be plugged today, according to a parish official, but the investigation into the cause of the spill continues.

An oil wellhead on Bayou St. Denis near the Barataria Waterway continues to spew oil, contaminated water and natural gas after a dredge barge crashed into the rig early Tuesday.

The company contracted to cap and plug the damaged well is on site and preparing to begin work, said Deano Bonano, Jefferson Parish director of homeland security. Wild Well Control of Harahan is currently doing a site examination of the well, and depending on the results, could have the leak stopped today, he said.

The well is small. Thanksgiving for small mercies.

"BRING CHAIN SAW WHEN YOU COME"

The title is taken from an email by a neighbor in New Roads. Our neighbor added, "No damage to power lines." Thanksgiving for that favor.

Grandpère will have his work cut out for him on his next visit. Work, work, work is how he spends his time in New Roads during the summer. When the grass stops growing in September, he can relax, except for cutting up broken pecan tree limbs. The trees drop limbs all too often.

A ONE-NIGHT BENEFIT FOR NEW ORLEANS AND THE GULF IN NYC

V-Day, Ashe' & The Women Donors Network present Swimming Upstream

A Special One-Night Benefit paying tribute to the women of New Orleans and the Gulf South on the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Performances by Troi Bechet, Asali Njeri DeVan, Anne-Liese Juge Fox, Karen-kaia Livers and singers Michaela A. Harrison, Leslie Blackshear Smith and featuring Shirley Knight & Kerry Washington*

Written by 16 New Orleans' women, Swimming Upstream is a powerful theatrical production that tells the raw and soulful stories of women who lived through the flood with grace, rage and great resiliency, punctuated by a flair for story telling, humor and music that comes from being New Orleanian. Purchase your tickets before August 1st and receive a 25% discount per ticket (not applicable to $500 seats) enter code SUSNY10 $250 & $500 tickets gain admission to the post performance reception

*All performers pending scheduling
With generous support from the Rockefeller Foundation and The Culture Project. For more information please go to vday.org/sus

If I were going to be in NYC, I would go. If you're in the area, please consider attending. Seats costing a fraction of $250 are available.

Thanks to Ann for the link.

THANKSGIVING FOR JOEL

From Margaret:

he (Joel) is now --and suddenly, a walking, talking, swallowing, pooping, breathing, smiling machine folks!!! Yeppa. It was like suddenly all the connections were re-connecting --yesterday afternoon!!! FINALLY!!!!! Hopefully he will be checking in to a lower rent district SOON

Thanks be to God, to all who prayed, to all who ministered to Joel in his illness. My heart is filled with joy and gratitude.