More than a year after the BP well was plugged, Gulf coast residents now face an oil threat from a new direction; a proposed 1700-mile pipeline that would provide a steady stream of raw Canadian tar sands crude from Alberta to huge polluting refineries in Texas. That’s raised the ire of Gulf residents who refuse to be the dumping ground for more dirty and dangerous oil industry operations.
Earlier this year, an amazing list of 20 environmental and social justice leaders issued an invitation to help fight for our climate. I read it. I thought about it. I shared it on FB. And then I pretty much forgot about it, returning my attention to GRN's efforts to protect and restore the Gulf.
Six years ago, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast. The impact of Katrina and government bungling continue to inflict major pain on the people left behind. It is impossible to understand what happened and what still remains without considering race, gender and poverty. The following offer some hints of what remains.
On August 23 a delegation of more than 20 Gulf Coast citizens, including myself, BP first responder clean-up workers, fishermen and community organizers will be traveling to Washington D.C. to join our voices with indigenous leaders, scientific experts, celebrities and environmentalists in opposing the proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline.
For more than a year, I’ve watched Gulf Coast residents suffer through the worst oil spill in history, their lives turned upside down by the shock and emotional trauma of BP’s oily assault. But through these agonizing times I’ve also grown to love and appreciate the Gulf environment and its people. I’ve vowed to take my two young daughters to witness firsthand the beauty of the bayou threatened by the encroaching waves of the Gulf.
Right after Hurricane Katrina, newly homeless New Orleanians gathered on Claiborne Avenue under Interstate 10, and lived under tents and blankets. Some worked in hotels in the French Quarter and the Central Business District, but still didn’t make enough to pay for a place to live. For a time, their numbers went down. But now, six years after the storm, homeless folks are under the Claiborne Bridge, and under the Earhart Bridge, in large numbers again.
As an organizer who is relatively new to the issue of environmental justice, it has been very enlightening to hear the experiences of community members.
BP first responder clean-up workers, fishermen and community organizers will be traveling to Washington D.C. to join our voices with indigenous leaders, scientific experts, celebrities and environmentalists in opposing the proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline.
Right after Hurricane Katrina, newly homeless New Orleanians gathered on Claiborne Avenue under Interstate 10, and lived under tents and blankets. Some worked in hotels in the French Quarter and the Central Business District, but still didn’t make enough to pay for a place to live. For a time, their numbers went down. But now, six years after the storm, homeless folks are under the Claiborne Bridge, and under the Earhart Bridge, in large numbers again.
