Over the past year, there’s been much speculation about where the oil from the Deepwater Horizon went. Maybe it got disappeared by magical microbes. Maybe it’s all on the sea floor, and maybe more important, if it is on the sea floor (which several studies suggest), what happens if the area gets hit by a hurricane, will the oil resurface? Well, no hurricanes yet, but … Continue reading Tropical Storm Lee brings more tar balls…
Is it arrogance? What possesses people in charge of a corporation to dispel rumors of a newly leaking wellhead by simply saying the wellhead is no longer leaking without providing video proof? Especially when that company is responsible for unleashing the worst environmental disaster in this country. Especially when that company has been less than honest in the past…especially when financial self-interest was at stake. … Continue reading Taking BP’s word for it…
Ed Note: The USCG now taking a fresh look at pictures of the oil they previously denied was there. Look, I’m not trying to play the role of conspiracy buff here, but if there is one thing any of us who follow the oil spill news knows, it is: 1. Truth takes a second place to narrative. 2. Order of response: deny everything, and if … Continue reading More about the (not) leaking Macondo Well…
More oil in the Gulf of Mexico… British Petroleum says it is investigating a new sheen of oil, but did not say where they have found said sheen. Nor did they say what is causing said sheen. What they did say is it wasn’t found near “any existing BP operations,” oh, and they added “there is a lot of sheen in the Gulf of Mexico … Continue reading Hear the one about the sealed Macondo Well?
After the Deepwater Horizon exploded 16 months ago, the people of the Gulf Coast were made a successive series of promises by the government, by British Petroleum and then by the administrator of the GCCF, Ken Feinberg. In their own ways, each entity promised to make the Gulf Coast whole again…first through clean-up, then through reparations and ultimately by claiming precautions and new guidelines would be … Continue reading One more try for the Gulf Coast, Barbier sets trial date…
Congratulations, and thanks much for the continued coverage of the spill and aftermath… “Times-Picayune reporter David Hammer won a national environmental reporting award Monday for his coverage of the BP oil spill. The Society of Environmental Journalists announced the winners of the 2010-2011 Awards for Reporting on the Environment. Hammer reported on the risky decisions and lax safety practices that led to the April 20, … Continue reading Congratulations, David…
Rep. Joe Bonner of Alabama, member of the House Appropriations Committee called for an independent audit of the GCCF this week, something many Gulf Coast residents have been wanting to see happen for some time now. Bonner made this request to the Justice Department, and the request has been included in legislation that was approved on Wednesday. “As we approach the one-year anniversary of the creation of the GCCF, … Continue reading Independent audit of GCCF? Great, how about BP too?
In article after article on the spill and the GCCF, come the words, “slipping through the cracks,” in reference to the inevitability that some who have rightful claim to the British Petroleum compensation fund will be denied payment for any number of reasons…they couldn’t prove their physical ailments came as a result of exposure to the spill, they didn’t have the proper documentation, they didn’t … Continue reading Not one, is not unreasonable…
Ken Feinberg, in an article from yesterday’s Times-Picayune, reports the pace of payments by the GCCF have improved, sped up and are finally hitting their stride. In the article by David Hammer, it is reported the average amount of final payments have increased, as has the percentage of final payments paid, also, the GCCF has processed 95% of the 300,000 claims that were filed before … Continue reading Kenneth Feinberg “says” things are picking up…well, Ken “says” a lot of things…
A recent film, originally airing April 22nd on Discovery Planet Green, documents the impact of the oil spill on Gulf residents… “You go out in the water and think everything’s okay, but it’s not. You close your eyes and you don’t hear any seagulls, there’s no fish jumping.” “I’ve been in the bayou my whole life, and I ain’t ever seen so much dead stuff as … Continue reading Stories From the Gulf: Living with the Oil Disaster
Drake Toulouse: Photography and Words 