Last week, a co-worker came into my office and noted that I’m still going on about the BP Gulf oil spill. I don’t share this blog with too many people I know personally, and this co-worker was one of the few I had mentioned it to. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by her comment but I did ask anyway… “What do you mean?” “Isn’t it kind … Continue reading If a tree falls in the woods, will the media still be there?
The National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, in their released draft report, have found that members of Obama’s administration actively blocked the NOAA from releasing worst-case estimates of the amount of oil blowing out of the Macondo Well. The report also cited the infamous oil spill report which reported 75% of the oil was gone as creating a misleading impression … Continue reading In the Gulf: Commission Releases Information and I Don’t Feel Better
Okay, so maybe they didn’t say that directly, but what else are we to assume if these two agencies, designed to protect and inform the American electorate tells us the water and air in the Gulf of Mexico are safe despite independent testing by Oregon State University that shows this dramatic elevation in PAH’s? And yes, exposure to some of these Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons have … Continue reading NOAA, EPA Says 40 Fold Increase in Gulf Carcinogens is Safe
Federal officials and the Obama administration have maintained for well over two months now that all is safe in the gulf: no serious food contamination, no significant risk to air and water quality, no long-term health risks. And all this seems well and good so long as you only ask the government’s scientists. Asking elsewhere, one gets an entirely different story, and from such notable … Continue reading FDA, NOAA Still Not Testing for Heavy Metals or Dispersants in Gulf Seafood
By now many of us have read of British Petroleum’s increased ad spending in the months following the April 20th Deepwater Horizon Explosion. Rep. Kathy Castor was especially upset by this, saying “BP is overdoing it, it’s really making people angry. Every day you get up and see these full-page ads in every newspaper and the TV ads…while BP’s advertising campaign ramped up, businesses and the … Continue reading An Audition: British Petroleum’s Public Relations Department
Over the past five months, Gulf Coast residents have been treated to a number of decisions with direct impact on their lives. They weren’t asked to give input at the time these decisions were made. They weren’t asked how they thought it might affect their future. The decisions occurred above their heads and most times, without their knowledge, but they are the ones now paying … Continue reading Changing Course in the Gulf: Bad Lessons in Money and Politics Pt. 3 – The Obama Administration and Business as Usual
Criminal charges being considered against BP in Gulf oil rig tragedy – Times Picayune Hurricanes May Carry Toxic Chemicals from Crude Oil and Dispersant Inland – Washington Blog FDA’s standards for Gulf seafood may be lower than those in past oil spills – Press Register John McCain Says He’s Too Old and Tired for Any New Ideas of His Own – HuffingtonPost ‘Censoring’ of Craigslist … Continue reading Headlines: Gulf Coast and Beyond
I thought the oil was gone. I thought the relief wells were on target. I thought emergency relief payments were to be issued within 48 hours, the blow out preventer was coming to the surface, British Petroleum’s internal investigation had found itself innocent, Corexit was biodegrading, the oil plumes had disappeared, the Gulf’s waters were being reopened because all was clear, nobody was really getting … Continue reading Well Hell…Turn Off the News for Five Days and the Official Narrative Goes to Shit…
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…
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
Drake Toulouse: Photography and Words 