The Gulf? Don’t Nobody Know Nothing Never – Me Neither, Except for…

I remember one night many years ago, walking down Decatur Street in the Quarter as the darkness was coming on, challenging the streetlamps to do their best. It was a beautiful February evening, colder but not freezing and as I glanced in the river’s direction I smiled at the sight of a rolling fog bank, moving slow, silent and concealing. Stopping at the corner of the square, I … Continue reading The Gulf? Don’t Nobody Know Nothing Never – Me Neither, Except for…

The Prestige Study…Why Feinberg Should Drop the “No Sue” Clause for Final Payments

Is Feinberg reconsidering the no-sue clause? Perhaps so, and maybe because of new information such as this: In the journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, a new study reveals the longer term health effects for cleanup workers exposed to spilled oil when the tanker Prestige sank off the coast of Spain. What it shows is the risks to human health go far beyond the damage of … Continue reading The Prestige Study…Why Feinberg Should Drop the “No Sue” Clause for Final Payments

The Legacy of Katrina Study – The Kids Aren’t Alright

As a social worker, you develop a really dark sense of humor, a mindset often used as a coping mechanism for some of what you see and the stories you hear. During Katrina, I was living on the West Coast and at conferences, or in simple conversations with co-workers a statement I heard more than any other went something like this: “New Orleans? Jesus, that … Continue reading The Legacy of Katrina Study – The Kids Aren’t Alright

Rolling Dice in the Gulf Coast – Here Comes Feinberg and His “Choice”

“Tomorrow morning, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility is up and running,” said Ken Feinberg, appointed by Barack Obama to administer the $20 billion dollar escrow fund, “BP is out of the claims-processing business beginning tomorrow.” In many respects this is good news. Kenneth Feinberg has promised to get reparations money into the hands of residents within 48 hours and to business owners within a week. … Continue reading Rolling Dice in the Gulf Coast – Here Comes Feinberg and His “Choice”

Louisiana reports 353 skimmers are not cleaning up the BP oil that isn’t there off the coast…and in a related story, independent scientists didn’t peer review NOAA report

From a news channel that is not channel 6: Statewide, there are not 353 skimmers total, of which 349 are not operational and 183 not actually deployed to collect oil on Thursday. Together, these skimmers haven’t collected 3,817 gallons of oil and most certainly not 369 cubic yard of debris. The report on skimming operations on Louisiana’s coast, although compiled as a result of Governor … Continue reading Louisiana reports 353 skimmers are not cleaning up the BP oil that isn’t there off the coast…and in a related story, independent scientists didn’t peer review NOAA report

Fortifying the Wall – BP Accused of, and the NOAA Withholds…Information

You really didn’t think they’d just give up without a fight. Transocean, the owners of the Deepwater Horizon is reportedly at odds with British Petroleum, accusing the company of not turning over evidence for Transocean’s own investigation of the oil rig’s explosion, while the NOAA, despite congressional demand is refusing to release their data and methodology for the much maligned government study that produced the … Continue reading Fortifying the Wall – BP Accused of, and the NOAA Withholds…Information

And the Dam Began to Crack…Two Studies and the Fishermen Speak Out

Scientists, fishermen, activists…all across the Gulf Coast have been speaking out against what many of them believe to be unrealistic numbers from the government and with the news of two recent studies, the news media appears to once again be listening as the NOAA, state officials and in one particular instance, a seafood factory owner was forced to go on the defensive. First the Georgia … Continue reading And the Dam Began to Crack…Two Studies and the Fishermen Speak Out

Going Against the New Narrative – the University of Georgia, the American Medical Association and Mississippi Fishermen

Wow, yesterday was a bad day for the official story, you know…that storyline that says the Gulf of Mexico is rapidly recovering, 75% of the oil is gone, the seafood is safe and how it is now time for everyone to live happily ever after with the reopened fishing areas? Well, to believe the American Medical Association, the University of Georgia and some fisherman taking … Continue reading Going Against the New Narrative – the University of Georgia, the American Medical Association and Mississippi Fishermen