Crossposted from Al Jazeera. Fresh flooding brings up difficult questions for Gulf coast residents, as fisherman pay the price to keep cities dry. Byron Encalade grew up in the swamps of southeast Louisiana, a place where day-to-day life hasn't changed much in generations.
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.
There is a moment between intending to change and actually making a change that is as large and silent as the far reaches of the universal plains. For some, it is a split second. For others it is years. For the collective conscience, it may be several lifetimes.
How easy it is for us to think that we are separate from each other, that who we are as a people is not entirely dependent upon who we are as an individual, and vise versa.
More than half of the Mississippi's swollen waters are beginning to flood Louisiana's Cajun Country and the Atchafalaya Basin. Today, floodwaters diverted from the Mississippi River are expected to reach Morgan City, Louisiana (population 12,000). This flooding comes after the Army Corps of Engineers' decision last Saturday (May 14th) to open the M
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?
My dad used to work at one of the chemical plants in the Point Comfort/Port Lavaca area in Texas, about a two and a half hour drive southwest from Houston. The plant produces plastics and PVC pellets which are used to make anything from sandwich bags to molded products. My father was a waste-water operator. They repeatedly had him send contaminated water out into our bays. Many of these contaminants are cancer causing agents.
The wind blows soothingly as I’m sitting on the edge of the pier. Clouds blemish the open sky, which is flourished with various shades of reds and oranges. The sun is slowly setting in the distance, casting dark shadows against the numerous boats anchored to the desolate docks.
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.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with several neighboring friends and associates that are from New Orleans, but now living in Houston. Two I met, and they became a part of my life, while I was residing in Houston after Hurricane Katrina. I wanted to know, more than five years after leaving New Orleans, why were they still in Houston? Did they consider themselves displaced? What did they think about New Orleans and returning home?
There is a moment between intending to change and actually making a change that is as large and silent as the far reaches of the universal plains. For some, it is a split second. For others it is years. For the collective conscience, it may be several lifetimes. 
More than half of the Mississippi's swollen waters are beginning to flood Louisiana's Cajun Country and the Atchafalaya Basin. Today, floodwaters diverted from the Mississippi River are expected to reach Morgan City, Louisiana (population 12,000). This flooding comes after the Army Corps of Engineers' decision last Saturday (May 14th) to open the M 
My dad used to work at one of the chemical plants in the Point Comfort/Port Lavaca area in Texas, about a two and a half hour drive southwest from Houston. The plant produces plastics and PVC pellets which are used to make anything from sandwich bags to molded products. My father was a waste-water operator. They repeatedly had him send contaminated water out into our bays. Many of these contaminants are cancer causing agents.
The wind blows soothingly as I’m sitting on the edge of the pier. Clouds blemish the open sky, which is flourished with various shades of reds and oranges. The sun is slowly setting in the distance, casting dark shadows against the numerous boats anchored to the desolate docks. 
I recently had the opportunity to speak with several neighboring friends and associates that are from New Orleans, but now living in Houston. Two I met, and they became a part of my life, while I was residing in Houston after Hurricane Katrina. I wanted to know, more than five years after leaving New Orleans, why were they still in Houston? Did they consider themselves displaced? What did they think about New Orleans and returning home?