Louisiana Wetlands Documentary on tonite.....

WATCH HARVEST TO RESTORE AMERICA'S COASTAL HEARTLAND THURSDAY 11/6, 8PM ON WLAE New Orleans

How often do you put gas in your car?  Do you enjoy coffee every day?  Looking forward to Louisiana-caught shrimp for dinner tonight?

If the devastation of Louisiana's coastal erosion isn't addressed immediately, all of those things, and more, will simply not be available when you want them.  

The new wetlands documentary,Harvest to Restore America's Coast Heartland,  which airs on WLAE Thursday, November 6th at 8pm,  addresses the far-reaching effects of Louisiana's coastal land loss and what needs to be done to address this environmental catastrophe.

It took seven thousand five hundred years for the Mississippi River to create the wetlands of Southeast Louisiana.  It took about seventy-five years for Man to effect the environmental changes that would destroy them.  Scientists estimate that there's only a decade, at most two, before it's too late to save coastal Louisiana.

With the massive land loss along Louisiana's Gulf Coast finally being widely recognized as a nationally-critical environmental disaster, the decades of studying the problem are finally, fitfully, shifting into implementation of large scale restoration.  But when a problem is so
massive — a thousand square miles of coastal lands have already disappeared — exactly what can we do to stop the damage?

Harvest to Restore examines in depth the technology that a growing consensus of scientists believe is the only workable solution to the Gulf Coastal land loss crisis.  Pipeline sediment delivery — no, it's not a name that rolls easily off the tongue —holds the promise of
expeditiously recreating the natural system of barrier islands, marshes, and ridgelands that provide the only practical long term hurricane protection both to America's energy hub and to the port of New Orleans (through which comes almost half of the coffee America drinks, along with a surprising amount of consumer goods!).

The documentary looks at how pipeline sediment delivery works, how it's being used in other countries around the world, and how it might be implemented in the Louisiana coastal zone.

Award-winning writer/producer/director Michelle Benoit, along with co-producer/husband Glen Pitre, are lifelong residents of the Louisiana coastal zone.  Their films have been shown nationwide and around the world and have been translated into more than sixteen languages.

Harvest to Restore is a co-production of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, and Cote Blanche Productions, inc.

For more info call BTNEP at 1-800-259-0869, visit www.lpb.org or contact michiebenoit@gmail.com.

Obama's Speech

"Hello, Chicago.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

"We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

"It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.

"A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

"Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

"I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor (Sarah) Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

"I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

"And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.

"Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.

"And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

"To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

"And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best - the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

"To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way. To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics, you made this happen and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

"But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

"I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.

"We didn't start with much money or many endorsements.

"Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

"It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give 5 and 10 and 20 to the cause.

"It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

"It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organised and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

"This is your victory.

"And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

"You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

"Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

"There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

"There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

"I promise you, we as a people will get there.

"There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

"But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

"What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

"It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

"Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

"In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

"Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

"Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

"As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

"To those - to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

"That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

"She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.

"And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

"At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

"When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

"When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

"She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that 'We Shall Overcome'. Yes we can.

"A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

"And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

"Yes we can.

"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

"This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

"Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America."


Here's a beautiful audio slide show with snippets from the speech

And here is the entire speech:

November 4th is here

Here's an open letter to America which reflects my feelings on this historic day.




graphic courtesy of
Greg Peters

Chris Rose

Times Pic columnist Chris Rose was recently mentioned in the paper and it wasn't something that he wrote, although he probably will write about it soon.

When I read the article, I was saddened. It seems that he's been on a tailspin since the storm and he's hopefully hit the bottom.

You can read about it at this link: Revolutionl-21.

Here are reactions from the NOLA blogsphere.

Oyster

Toulouse Street

Swampwoman

Wishing you rest and recovery, Chris.

Lighting of the Graves

I last posted about this two years ago .

This weekend, a beautiful tradition will carry on in the Slidell/Lacombe area. The day after Halloween, All Saints Day, is a day set aside by the locals to clean up the graves of their family members and "visit" with the departed.

From an article in the St. Tammany News Entitled Lacombe man trying to keep La Toussant tradition alive is the story of a seventy-two year old Lacombe man, Matthew Cryer.


Like he’s done since he was 6, Cryer is keeping the tradition of La Toussaint alive. Also known as “Lights of the Dead” or “Lighting of the Graves,” Cryer and about 200 people will help clean graves, light hundreds of candles and spiritually reunite with loved ones who have passed.



The day is similar to Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. And Lacombe is one of the only places in the country where the tradition, started in the 1880s by his Creole ancestors, exists.

“I’ve never missed one, and I don’t intend to start now,” Cryer said, sitting on a wooden chair outside his country home. “It’s our tradition.”

The tradition was launched in the 1880s when Choctaw Indians living in Lacombe lit ritual bonfires every November as beacons to guide ancestor spirits home. The Creole people, descendants of those Indians, eventually adopted the measure.

Now, other areas such as Slidell and Lafitte, and even Covington and Mandeville, perform similar rituals, but nothing like in Lacombe, where generations look forward to it every year, Cryer said. It’s a way of life.

And now he’s afraid it may be dying.

I hope he's wrong. It's quite beautiful.

Good stuff for NOLA

Here's a link to a website that will make you smile about New Orleans coming back post Katrina . Fastcompany dot com which details ideals like "New Orleans Kid Camera Project" and Green Coast Enterprises, a small real estate services firm that aims to build sustainable, storm-proof homes along the Gulf Coast. Current work includes Project Home Again, a project of the Riggio Foundation that plans to build energy efficient homes for families whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Finally, a website designed to make New Orleans FEEL GOOD about their recovery.

Thanks to Humid Haney for the link and smile.

Great Campaign Commercial

hattip to The Humid Haney Rant

There's another good one here

The Gray Ghost Sucks

Read about it here, at Humid City.

In a post written by NOLAREX, it details how this self serving asshole has taken it upon himself to paint over this artwork by British grafitti artist Banksy.

BEFORE

AFTER


He even went so far as to use people to pose as employees at New Orleans City Hall to convince building owners that they had to remove the work.

From the above link:


Before I could recover from the shock that was more chagrin than anything, another man who lives almost facing the wall of the store, confirmed. “Yeh, it’s that guy that goes around painting grey all over the neighborhood.” I was obliged to take a tour of the area where this gentleman showed me grey splotch after ugly grey splotch of the style of the Grey Ghost that I am already too familiar with. Indeed, the “woman from City Hall” arrived in a white van with the man who painted grey on the building across the street. What a coincidence!

Bigezbear: Does the RNC Something We Don't Know

From Bigezbeara discussion of the sad state of the mindset of the GOP but ends the post with a laugh (for me, anyway)

Progress

The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed spending $66.4 million to rebuild wetlands along the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet and in Lake Borgne and also armor part of the lake's shoreline.






The plan is divided into three projects, each of which will take about 18 months to complete, and are expected to be built in succession:

-- The first project would use limestone rock to armor the shoreline of Lake Borgne at Shell Beach, with material dredged from within the lake brought in to rebuild wetlands between the shoreline and the MR-GO.

-- Next, the corps would use rock to protect the lake shoreline in two stretches at Bayous Dupre and Bienvenue.

-- The final project would fill in open water areas on the northwest side of the "golden triangle, " an area of wetlands sandwiched between the MR-GO and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. That project would be completed last to coordinate with the construction of a storm-surge barrier across the triangle that is part of the corps's "100-year" levee improvements, designed to protect the New Orleans area from surge caused by hurricanes with a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year.

The corps announced Thursday that it had authorized Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure Inc. to prepare for construction of the barrier and levee project, clearing the way for it to begin staging equipment and supplies in the area.

Some land acquisition in the footprint of the barrier project must still be completed, corps officials said.



The corps also has embarked on a broader study of how to restore wetlands and land features lost to erosion caused by ships and barges using the MR-GO and by construction of the ill-fated shipping channel itself.

That study was authorized by the 2007 Water Resources Development Act, but Congress must still approve and appropriate money for any projects it recommends.

The 2007 water act also ordered deauthorization of the MR-GO as a navigation channel. A $24.7 million rock dike is to be built across the channel at Bayou la Loutre in St. Bernard Parish by June 1, 2009.

The corps already has spent about $5 million of the $75 million appropriated by Congress in 2005 for a small wetlands-restoration project and some armoring along the MR-GO.


This brings us one step closer to realizing our goal of reducing risk from storm surge for the citizens of the greater New Orleans area,” said Lt. Col. Victor Zillmer, resident engineer for the project. “Mobilization efforts include staging equipment, conducting surveys, fabricating steel batter piles and spun cast piles used to anchor the barrier.”

The next steps include real estate acquisition and then the start of construction, which could begin in November with dredging, the corps said.

“Dredging will take about two months, and then we’ll begin driving piles to support the surge barrier,” Zillmer said.


View Larger Map

The surge barrier will extend from the Michoud floodwall north of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to the levee on the west side of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet just south of the existing Bayou Bienvenue control structure. The barrier will include a 150-foot surge gate and a 150-foot barge gate to facilitate navigation along the GIWW.

“The system will also feature a new navigable flood control sector gate at Bayou Bienvenue, a braced concrete wall across the MRGO and a concrete floodwall across the marsh between these waterways,” said Rick Kendrick, the corp's Hurricane Protection Office chief of program execution. The existing Bayou Bienvenue flood control structure would be maintained in its existing condition and could continue to be used to regulate high tides.

The corps expects to complete the project in 2011.

Iowa & FEMA

from an AP story:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday questioned a TV station's findings of high formaldehyde levels in agency-issued trailers and said the lifestyles and habits of the flood victims living in the trailers may be to blame.



Hmmm….sounds familiar, doesn't it?

For three years the residents of the Gulf Coast have been dealing with FEMA foolishness.

We've had the FEMA blame game

FEMA trying to selling surplus trailers to the general public to "raise money" to purchase more emergency housing.

FEMA offering to sell the trailers to residents for $13K

Luckily, there are the KatrinaRitaville Express activists out there, trying to educate people on what life is like in a FEMA trailer.