Four weeks ago I answered a knock on my door. I was surprised when I opened it. There stood a friend, a 56-year-old Houma Indian who has been a crew boat captain for many years. I was surprised as this man very rarely visits my home. I asked him, "how are you?" Then I realized he had tears in his eyes. As he began to speak, tears streamed down his face. He began by saying, "I'm sorry, but I need to tell somebody." He paused to compose himself.
Crossposted from Facing South. In the wake of its 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, BP pledged up to $500 million over a decade to create an independent program to conduct scientific research at institutions in the U.S.
By Mia White, crossposted from Ms Magazine. An hour’s drive east of New Orleans along the Gulf of Mexico, there thrives the largely unknown historic black settlement of North Gulfport and Turkey Creek, Mi
Yesterday, a crowd of about 3,000 - 4,000 crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; Today, the Civil Rights activists continue on a week-long, 50-mile march from Selma to Montgomery. These marchers, some of them veterans of the original 1965 march for voting rights that took the same route, are not just commemorat
As Midwest and Midsouth communities mourned and regathered from tornados that claimed at least 30 lives and billions in destruction Friday night, Judge Carl Barbier announced a settlement between oil giant BP and thousands of individuals and businesses that lost money due to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. BP is estimating that this portion of the settlment will cost a little less than $8 billion.
Well, here we are, 675 days since we all awoke to the news that the Deepwater Horizon oil rig had exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Across the seasons since, we have borne witness to the near silent disaster that has continuously unfolded. It would be a lengthy deposition, were we allowed to take oath and testify to our individual journeys.
Crossposted from HealthyGulf.org. The big news is that BP and the plaintiffs steering committee have agreed to a process to settle remaining private claims, and that the PSC will be bowing out of a trial.
Last week, roughly one hundred Gulf Coast concerned citizens, advocates, environmentalists and scientists came together for the third Gulf Gathering since the first held in October 2010 not long after the BP oil disaster.
By Ingrid Chapman, crossposted from Justice Roars. I arrived in Alabama 2 days before HB 56 went into effect with the original plan of being here for 2 weeks. That turned into 3 months. I have just returned for 6 more months to work with the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice.
Editors Note: In Friday's New York Times, business columnist Joe Nocera argues that the BP settlement is a lawyers' scheme to "gin up" new clients and squeeze more money out of BP. He writes that "the vast majority of legitimate claims have already been paid by Feinberg" and that the new claims process established by the settlement will result in mostly "bogus" claims. Nocera specifically ridicules the BP settlement for addre
Just to let all my fisherman friends and families know, there will be a meeting in Baton Rouge at the Wildlife and Fisheries building (2000 Quail Dr.) on Thursday March 15th at 10 am, concerning the possible implementation of TEDs (Turtle Excluder Devices) in our inland skimmer nets, also the implementation of an onboard observer program for our vessels.
As the parent of a New Orleans Public School student I can tell you, the reality of sending your child to school has completely changed from when many of us were growing up. When I was a kid, we went to our local neighborhood schools. In New Orleans, since Hurricane Katrina, just sending your child to the closest school is no longer an option.
Dear Members of the BP Plaintiff Steering Committee,
You do not know me, and if it were not for the reckless, reprehensible, violations of British Petroleum regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, you would not know me. But you will get to know me.
The dead zone is a problem rarely mentioned in national Gulf Coast discussions, and whether BP oil entered the sea food chain after their disaster is a discussion neither the federal government, nor BP would like to have. For those who live and work off of Gulf Coast seafood, frankly it's not the most desirable discussion either. But as with talk about ubiquitous drilling in the Gulf, it's a discussion that needs to be had.
Gloria Trevino doesn’t need a Washington politician to tell her that a daily gusher of Canadian tar sands crude won’t do her air in south Houston any favors. Surrounded by massive petrochemical plants, she and her neighbors in this industrial community already breathe some of the dirtiest air in the country. Her small one-story pink stucco house is sandwiched between giant multi-colored steel storage containers like a tiny doll house stuck in the middle of a field of gigantic cooking pots.
Sometime around 5:30 a.m., on March 1, 2012, an off-duty policeman working for a private neighborhood security force stopped two young black men driving in a predominantly white neighborhood in New Orleans. The officer called for back up.
With news that President Obama will fast track the building of the southern leg of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, Texans in its path say their health and property rights are endangered by a torrent of corrosive tar sands oil from Canada.
Four weeks ago I answered a knock on my door. I was surprised when I opened it. There stood a friend, a 56-year-old Houma Indian who has been a crew boat captain for many years. I was surprised as this man very rarely visits my home. I asked him, "how are you?" Then I realized he had tears in his eyes. As he began to speak, tears streamed down his face. He began by saying, "I'm sorry, but I need to tell somebody." He paused to compose himself.
If you care about the fisheries resource and the traditional fishing communities that rely on them, take the time to read through this article and listen to the audio educational link contained within it (
Crossposted from 
By Mia White, crossposted from 
Yesterday, 
As Midwest and Midsouth communities mourned and regathered from tornados that claimed at least 30 lives and billions in destruction Friday night, Judge Carl Barbier announced a settlement between oil giant BP and thousands of individuals and businesses that lost money due to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. BP is estimating that this portion of the settlment will cost a little less than $8 billion.
Well, here we are, 675 days since we all awoke to the news that the Deepwater Horizon oil rig had exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Across the seasons since, we have borne witness to the near silent disaster that has continuously unfolded. It would be a lengthy deposition, were we allowed to take oath and testify to our individual journeys.
Crossposted from HealthyGulf.org
Last week, roughly one hundred Gulf Coast concerned citizens, advocates, environmentalists and scientists came together for the third Gulf Gathering since the first held in October 2010 not long after the BP oil disaster.
The RESTORE Act passed in the Senate on Thursday. I will never forget the vote: 76-22. We collectively were a part of this victory, with one voice.
By Ingrid Chapman, crossposted from 
Just to let all my fisherman friends and families know, there will be a meeting in Baton Rouge at the Wildlife and Fisheries building (2000 Quail Dr.) on Thursday March 15th at 10 am, concerning the possible implementation of TEDs (Turtle Excluder Devices) in our inland skimmer nets, also the implementation of an onboard observer program for our vessels.
As the parent of a New Orleans Public School student I can tell you, the reality of sending your child to school has completely changed from when many of us were growing up. When I was a kid, we went to our local neighborhood schools. In New Orleans, since Hurricane Katrina, just sending your child to the closest school is no longer an option.
Sometime around 5:30 a.m., on March 1, 2012, an off-duty policeman working for a private 