Less than a week ago, I came home to the Gulf Coast after a trip to Washington DC (where I joined a group of Gulf Coast residents in protesting the Keystone XL pipeline and BP "Claims Czar" Kenneth Feinberg). Since coming back, here is what I've seen and heard: I have seen photos of a 7-year-old with a rash all over her body - whose mother is fearful we will lose her if she is not helped.
Residents and clean-up workers exposed to the 2010 BP Oil Spill Catastrophe may experience adverse health affects for many years to come, according to a recently released review. “The Adverse Health Effects of Oil Spills: A Review of the Literature and a Framework for Medically Evaluating Exposed Individuals,” written by Barry S. Levy and William J. Nassetta, analyzed 13 studies of health effects among clean-up workers and community residents exposed to past spills.
I never was one to rock the boat. I'm a sailor, for goodness sakes. I would take off from the harbor at daybreak sometimes an' barely beat sundown coming in. I've sailed like that, since i was seven, for 50 years.
Originally published on IPS. Written by Lily Hough.
WASHINGTON, Jul 28, 2011 (IPS) - When news of the disastrous BP oil well explosion reached the residents of Jean Lafitte, Louisiana last April, Mayor Tim Kerner did the only thing he could think of to stop the oil from destroying his community. He encouraged everyone in his town to join him on the water, working day and night throughout the disaster to clean-up the spill.
By Monique Harden and Nathalie Walker, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights. As the Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (“GCCF”), Kenneth Feinberg has denied all illness claims from the BP oil drilling disaster for lack of medical proof of causation. However, Feinberg did not require such proof in his administration of the Agent Orange
In the aftermath of BP oil drilling disaster, it seemed that an overwhelming (albeit needed) amount of attention was given to restoring the environment, protecting animals, and the money – always the money. Very little attention was given to actually providing health care to people impacted by the oil disaster or the response to the disaster.
Originally published on TheLoop21.com. A year ago today, BP capped the blown-out Macondo well, stopping the flood of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
One year has passed since the announcement was made that the oil had stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. I remember that day explicitly because it was the same day I went on national television and asked, demanded really, that the President come down and meet with the people being affected.
Editor's note: Today, a guest bloggerexplains some of the legal obstacles and opportunities for whistleblowers in the BP disaster. Lindsey Williams of the National Whistleblowers Center describes how a law signed by Abraham Lincoln could be used to protect whistleblowers on the Gulf Coast, and make negligent corporations pay.
Less than a week ago, I came home to the Gulf Coast after a trip to Washington DC (where I joined a group of Gulf Coast residents in 
I never was one to rock the boat. I'm a sailor, for goodness sakes. I would take off from the harbor at daybreak sometimes an' barely beat sundown coming in. I've sailed like that, since i was seven, for 50 years.
By Monique Harden and Nathalie Walker, 
In the aftermath of BP oil drilling disaster, it seemed that an overwhelming (albeit needed) amount of attention was given to restoring the environment, protecting animals, and the money – always the money. Very little attention was given to actually providing health care to people impacted by the oil disaster or the response to the disaster.
Originally published on TheLoop21.com
One year has passed since the announcement was made that the oil had stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. I remember that day explicitly because it was the same day I went on national television and asked, demanded really, that the President come down and meet with the people being affected. 
Editor's note: Today, a guest blogger explains some of the legal obstacles and opportunities for whistleblowers in the BP disaster. Lindsey Williams of the 