From a great blog covering the "it's still here" oil crisis, Disenfranchised Citizen, an excerpt from his post entitled "As Problems Persist in the Gulf, Listening ain't Hearing":
Oil residue from the BP spill is still being hauled off by the truckload each day from the beaches of the barrier islands off the Mississippi Gulf coast. In another part of the Gulf set to reopen for fishing on Feb 2nd, a shrimpers’ nets are coming out of the water covered in oil. Florida Fishermen are dealing with the anxiety of knowing fish populations collapsed after the Exxon Valdez disaster. A flotilla of Wildlife and Fisheries boats sped into Bay Jimmy at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico in Plaquemines Parish, passing flocks of white pelicans, some still coated in oil. On Blood Beach, Mississippi, billions of baby clam and oyster shells washed up on shore. In the coastal areas of St. Bernard Parish, more than 8 months after the oil spill, their industry has come to a standstill; a fisherman adds there’s not much seafood to sell. At Grand Isle, LA, Louisiana Bucket Brigade’s environmental monitor Peter Brabeck said oil is rolling in on the beaches of the state park and nearby. “I’ve been here many times and I’ve never seen it looking like this,” Brabeck said of the oil mixing in with the beach sands, turning it black.
“A disaster. A catastrophe. Whatever you want to call it. Worst than Katrina,” said fisherman Emile Serigne.
Please go to the link above and read the whole post. It's sobering.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Bay Jimmy is STILL oiled, folks
BAY JIMMY, La. -- A flotilla of Wildlife and Fisheries boats sped into Bay Jimmy at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico in Plaquemines Parish, passing flocks of white pelicans, some still coated in oil.
"We've got four white ones that's got oil we've been trying to catch for the last couple of days," said Wildlife & Fisheries agent Mark Castille.
Agents say miles of southeast Louisiana shoreline has large patches of grass that are dead, everything coated by black oil.
But when he saw no cleanup crews present, Plequemines Parish President Billy Nungesser was infuriated.
"This is the biggest coverup in the history of America," fumed Nungesser. "We got a plan, you signed off on it. Yeah, we begging for help."
"Look at the consistency of this oil oozing out of the marsh here," said Robert Barham.
Wildlife & Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham used his gloved hand to easily expose the still liquid oil just below the surface, worrying it will spread.
"Any oil that is still here will go into new areas," Barham said. "And kill them."
Barham said it is will be a continuing process until someone comes to clean it up.
A Coast Guard spokesman said cleanup crews are still experimenting to find the best marsh cleanup method.
But Coast Guard statements that the cleanup is a priority made Nungesser explode.
"No one is walking away," said U.S. Coast Guard Commander Dan Lauer. "Clearly these are high priorities, but there are different phases in different areas accordingly."
"Oh, it's a priority, look at it," was Nungesser's angry response. "What is it eight and a half months later? Thanks God we're not out here asking for ammo to defend this country. And this is a priority? Their priorities are wrong. They're hoping we go away, we get tired."
"For Parish President Nungesser to make that statement, and even Secretary Barham, they've been a part, they're as trustees," Lauer said in response.
But the concern for the head of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Plaquemines Parish President is making sure that areas with the thick, peanut butter style oil still present are not just ignored.
"This marsh is dead, this marsh is going in the sea," said Barham.
Nungesser added: "And as the water comes in, we get a little thunderstorm comes in tonight, and takes this oil, those ponds you see far inland will have oil in it."
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Scuzzbucket of the Week
I've been remiss on posting WEEKLY scuzzbuckets due to the madness that is my job (lay everyone off and let one person do all the jobs). But I spotted this today and would love to bitch-slap this M.F. for his holier than thou attitude about himself.
A top House Democrat said the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) should change how members of Congress are screened at airports.
“I really believe that that is the place where we feel the most ill at ease, is going through airports,” Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who serves as assistant minority leader in the House, said on Fox News Sunday.
“We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”
Noting that local law enforcement were installed outside his South Carolina home after the attack on Giffords, Clyburn said the House may need to “beef up the funding” for individual members’ budgets so they can coordinate improved security arrangements with local police.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said she was reluctant to attach a cumbersome layer of security to House members.
“I’m concerned about putting up more walls between myself and the people that I represent,” she said on Fox. “I want to make sure that we’re looking at it, that we’re making an appropriate response, that we as members are being smart in our interactions.”
McMorris Rodgers said she wasn’t concerned about her security. “I feel that the Capitol Police do a great job of warning us, of helping us and our staff be smart when we’re out in the district,” she said.
Mr. Clyburn kiss my poor little southern ass. You were ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE, you assclown.
From this article
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/136849-house-dem-calls-for-beefed-up-security-special-treatment-by-tsa
A top House Democrat said the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) should change how members of Congress are screened at airports.
“I really believe that that is the place where we feel the most ill at ease, is going through airports,” Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who serves as assistant minority leader in the House, said on Fox News Sunday.
“We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”
Noting that local law enforcement were installed outside his South Carolina home after the attack on Giffords, Clyburn said the House may need to “beef up the funding” for individual members’ budgets so they can coordinate improved security arrangements with local police.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said she was reluctant to attach a cumbersome layer of security to House members.
“I’m concerned about putting up more walls between myself and the people that I represent,” she said on Fox. “I want to make sure that we’re looking at it, that we’re making an appropriate response, that we as members are being smart in our interactions.”
McMorris Rodgers said she wasn’t concerned about her security. “I feel that the Capitol Police do a great job of warning us, of helping us and our staff be smart when we’re out in the district,” she said.
Mr. Clyburn kiss my poor little southern ass. You were ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE, you assclown.
From this article
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/136849-house-dem-calls-for-beefed-up-security-special-treatment-by-tsa
Monday, January 10, 2011
Oil Washes Ashore Again At Grand Isle - New Orleans News Story - WDSU New Orleans
Oil Washes Ashore Again At Grand Isle - New Orleans News Story - WDSU New Orleans
Insert string of curses here.
Here's the transcript from the link above:
POSTED: 9:40 pm CST January 5, 2011
UPDATED: 10:06 pm CST January 5, 2011
Email Print
Comments (2)GRAND ISLE, La. -- Oil is beginning to wash ashore at Grand Isle.
The mayor's office said tar balls are coming ashore on Elmer's Island and sand dollar-sized patches of oil are washing up in Grand Isle.
The environmental group Louisiana Bucket Brigade said it was the worst instance of oil contamination since the BP oil spill.
Officials said crews are cleaning the beaches, removing the oil with shovels and scrubbers.
People in Terrebonne and Jefferson parishes will get the chance to meet with the man in charge of doling out BP's $20 billion compensation fund soon.
Kennth Feinberg will hold public meetings in Houma, Lafitte and Grand Isle next week to explain new guidelines and changes that will affect current and future claims.
Insert string of curses here.
Here's the transcript from the link above:
POSTED: 9:40 pm CST January 5, 2011
UPDATED: 10:06 pm CST January 5, 2011
Email Print
Comments (2)GRAND ISLE, La. -- Oil is beginning to wash ashore at Grand Isle.
The mayor's office said tar balls are coming ashore on Elmer's Island and sand dollar-sized patches of oil are washing up in Grand Isle.
The environmental group Louisiana Bucket Brigade said it was the worst instance of oil contamination since the BP oil spill.
Officials said crews are cleaning the beaches, removing the oil with shovels and scrubbers.
People in Terrebonne and Jefferson parishes will get the chance to meet with the man in charge of doling out BP's $20 billion compensation fund soon.
Kennth Feinberg will hold public meetings in Houma, Lafitte and Grand Isle next week to explain new guidelines and changes that will affect current and future claims.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Bless You Boys 2010
Even though we didn't go to the Superbowl again, we DID make it to the playoffs.
Thank you New Orleans Saints for a wild ride. Heal up and see you all in August.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Restoration Baby Steps
The Army Corps of Engineers has unveiled a $2.9 billion plan to restore the environmental damage caused by the construction and operation of the now-closed Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet. The plan includes:
- a new freshwater diversion near Violet
- restoration of cypress swamp in wetlands adjacent to the Lower 9th Ward,
Algiers and Chalmette
- protection of shorelines along the eastern New Orleans land bridge
- restoration or nourishment of wetlands along Lake Borgne
If approved, the project would take 10 years to complete, with construction beginning as early as 2012. It would restore, nourish or protect about 92 square miles of wetlands and land.
Click on picture for larger, more legible version
Congress ordered the corps to develop a plan after deauthorizing the MR-GO as a navigation channel in 2007. This plan still must clear a variety of major hurdles, including whether Louisiana would be required to pay 35 percent of the cost of most of the projects. Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Garret Graves, the state's senior coastal official, notified the corps in August that the state believes the federal law authorizing the restoration plan requires that the federal government pay 100 percent of all costs.
Unlike other corps planning documents, which require Congress to vote to authorize the project and then hold a separate vote, often years later, to appropriate money for construction, Congress already has authorized the MR-GO restoration and need only begin appropriating money for its construction.
There are a lot of hurdles to overcome in order for this plan to come to fruition all of them spelled out here, but it's a start.
- a new freshwater diversion near Violet
- restoration of cypress swamp in wetlands adjacent to the Lower 9th Ward,
Algiers and Chalmette
- protection of shorelines along the eastern New Orleans land bridge
- restoration or nourishment of wetlands along Lake Borgne
If approved, the project would take 10 years to complete, with construction beginning as early as 2012. It would restore, nourish or protect about 92 square miles of wetlands and land.
Click on picture for larger, more legible version
Congress ordered the corps to develop a plan after deauthorizing the MR-GO as a navigation channel in 2007. This plan still must clear a variety of major hurdles, including whether Louisiana would be required to pay 35 percent of the cost of most of the projects. Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Garret Graves, the state's senior coastal official, notified the corps in August that the state believes the federal law authorizing the restoration plan requires that the federal government pay 100 percent of all costs.
Unlike other corps planning documents, which require Congress to vote to authorize the project and then hold a separate vote, often years later, to appropriate money for construction, Congress already has authorized the MR-GO restoration and need only begin appropriating money for its construction.
There are a lot of hurdles to overcome in order for this plan to come to fruition all of them spelled out here, but it's a start.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
No Resolutions
Pistolette blogs about the absurdity of New Years Resolutions in New Orleans hereNo Resolutions
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