Rocky Kistner's blog

Exactly a year ago, former White House energy advisor Carol Browner informed the world that 75% of the oil from the worst oil disaster in history had been cleaned up, evaporated and dispersed or burned off. “Mother Nature did her part,” Browner told the world. [...Read more]

Louisiana shrimp buyer Dean Blanchard has seen plenty of crazy things during his life in the bayou. But his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets the day he watched a mother dolphin pushing her dead baby calf  towards him as he stood on the commercial dock of his once thriving seafood business on Grand Isle.   [...Read more]

A year ago to the day, I attended a packed town hall meeting deep in the Louisiana bayou featuring newly-hired BP claims administrator Ken Feinberg. The faces in the crowd were diverse and anxious; Cajun, Vietnamese, African American, all pressed together in the sweltering heat, trying to find out how to salvage their lives after the worst oil spill in history. [...Read more]

When my colleagues released NRDC's annual Testing the Waters  report documenting pollution problems across the nation’s coastlines, the last thing they expected was this jaw-dropping Orwellian tweet to pop up on their computer screens: [...Read more]

When members of Congress want to figure out what’s really going on in the Gulf these days, it’s easy to tell if they just want to make political statements or get to the truth of the matter.

This week political statements ruled the day. Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, turned tradition on its head by first trotting out Gulf politicians and businessmen intent on bashing Obama administration oil drilling policies. The man responsible for ensuring drilling safety was allowed to speak---last. [...Read more]

The first week of Louisiana’s crucial brown shrimp season is nearly over and the reports from fishermen are not good. A government source confirms catches are down dramatically and some fishermen say they have given up because the price of gas is high and the price they’re getting for Gulf shrimp is low. [...Read more]

Laurel Lockamy has seen her share of dead sea life washing up on the beaches of Mississippi. Like a few other residents, she’s toted her camera along wherever she goes, documenting the dolphins, sea turtles, red fish and plethora of dead birds that seem to be washing in unusually high numbers. [...Read more]

Sometimes in history there are moments you have to ask yourself; can this really be happening? The fires spreading across the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, the toxic goo seeping into houses at Love Canal. Each time, the pubic reacted with outrage and politicians got the message. New laws were passed to ensure public health and our environmental resources were better protected.

So wouldn't you would think that after the largest oil blowout in US history those lawmakers would be falling over themselves to pass new laws and keep this from happening again?

Not this time. [...Read more]

There’s a parallel universe in the Gulf these days. In one, the water’s clear, the beaches clean and the seafood's as sublime as ever. The other is the one I witnessed last month, a world many fear may be closer to the truth. [...Read more]

Just a week after the anniversary of the nation’s greatest oil disaster, Congress is set to vote on legislation to open up virtually all federal waters to drilling, while cutting governmental oversight and safety measures at the same time.

That’s sort of like telling the designer of the Titanic to forget about the icebergs and just build more ships. Full speed ahead! [...Read more]