Jun 25 2008
Since 1995 the number of oceanic dead zones, masses of oxygen depleted water deadly to most marine life, has grown from 44 to 169. The International Whaling Commission reported that dead zones are killing the world’s coastlines, increasing by a third in the last two years.
Mississippi flood waters, fouled with run off of sewage and fertilizer, are forecast to cause a record dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico later this summer.
By IWC
May 23 2008
This diary is intended as something of a rant. Because this saddens me and makes my blood boil every time I think about it.
But before I vent, here’s a caveat: as I said in yesterday’s diary, 9/11 tore me apart. So this is by no means intended as a put-down of the trauma 9/11 survivors went through or a complaint about the well-deserved sympathy and support they’ve gotten.
Rather, what pisses me off is is the fact that survivors of 8/29–whether of Katrina, the federal flood, or of Rita–have not been receiving the equal aid, synpathy, or other treatment to that received by 9/11 survivors, that they deserve. What blueintheface brings up–the fact that Daily Kos hasn’t been paying enough attention to New Orleans and Katrina, is the tip of a very big iceberg involving the MSM and many politicians that has been keeping storm and flood survivors from getting the attention they have a right to receive.
May 22 2008
I’ve often imagined many in have been wondering why I care so much and have been so passionate in my support of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region from afar, after having been to New Orleans but once, over 30 years ago. And how Hurricane Katrina and the federal flood have had such a tremendous, shattering impact on me though I witnessed them safe and dry far from the sea in central Illinois. And how not only could I be well-deservedly hard on BushCo, but even take Clinton and Obama to task for not paying enough attention to New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region. And why I feel so strongly about this I started the NOLA/Gulf Blogathons. I’ll go into that in more detail below the fold–but first I’ll tell you how 9/11 impacted me.
Apr 25 2008
Yesterday on a campaign stop replete with photo-ops in New Orleans, Sen. John McCain made an attempt to distance himself from the failings of the Bush Administration during Katrina and the federal flood by saying “Never again…” and spinning himself as someone who would have been more proactive than had Bush regarding this disaster.
But does McCain really represent a change from BushCo incompetence, if not outright genocide, in New Orleans? Would a McCain administration really aid New Orleans’ recovery? Is McCain a friend of New Orleans, or a foe?
Apr 21 2008
Several Louisiana newspapers carried the Associated Press version of the Baton Rouge Advocate article on the Loren Scott & Associates study on the economic importance of the Port Fourchon energy complex.
In the style that has become expected of studies for hire, the report lays out the case for which it was produced, namely that getting more money to raise the road to the the port is a very important project. However, in making the case, it ignores the reason that the road must be raised – a sinking coast and rising sea levels.
Here are the opening paragraphs of The Advocate article:
Port Fourchon services 90 percent of the deepwater rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, and even a brief interruption of services would cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs, a study released Thursday shows.
The Greater Lafourche Port Commission, which commissioned the study, hopes the information will help convince Congress to fund upgrades and repairs to the area’s levee system and the $250 million shortfall for an elevated highway and bridge from Golden Meadow to Port Fourchon, port director Ted Falgout said.
It’s understandable that the Port Fourchon study would not mention the reasons the road must be raised are due, at least in part, to the significant energy industry contributions to the destruction of coastal marsh lands and the climate change producing the rising seas.
Apr 18 2008
This is Part 2 of an Earth Day-themed series on environmental issues in the Gulf Region after Katrina and the federal flood.
In the first part of this Earth Day series, the environmental devastation experienced by New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region was discussed. This installment will focus on Louisiana’s wetlands which are being washed away and the sinking of New Orleans and the rest of southern Louisiana.
Apr 18 2008
Today is Day Two of the NOLA/gulf coast Blogathon at La Grande Orange. Links to all essays are below –commonscribe
It is the Great Forgetting. After thirty-odd months, the nation has moved on. Katrina and all that it wrought has fallen out of the national conversation. The devastation caused by both the storm and the incompetence of the government are just dim, uncomfortable memories for most of the nation.
Which is exactly how the insurance industry likes it.
Apr 17 2008
This is the first part of a 2-part Earth Day-themed series on environmental issues in the Gulf Region.
Not only were Katrina, the federal flood, and Rita massive human tragedies, they were for reasons which will be detailed below easily this nation’s biggest environmental calamity.
And their potential impacts on human health and life in New Orleans and in the rest of the affected area are still being assessed over 2 1/2-years later. More below the fold…..
Apr 11 2008
Down in New Orleans, they are burying the noted blogger, rabid Saints fan and local bon vivant ashley morris today. He leaves behind a wife and three young kids, and they need your help.
Ashley Morris
Apr 07 2008
A few days ago, I posted on the untimely death one of our blogging brethren, New Orleans native Dr. Ashley Morris
For those of you unfamiliar with Ashley’s work, here is, IMHO, the finest rant I have ever read. He posted this the November after Katrina hit New Orleans. It has become something of a legend on the Gulf Coast, and it is now known simply as FYYFF:
Apr 04 2008
also at Orange
I’ll keep this short, because frankly, I never met him.
Professor Ashley Morris is one of the wittiest, sharpest bloggers on life in New Orleans, post-Katrina. For the past few years, I’ve been making it a point to check out his blog two or three times a week, which is how I learned that on Wednesday, New Orleans lost a champion.
Mar 19 2008