One year later, we are STILL waiting for action from Congress

One year ago tomorrow, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers and sending an estimated 4.9 million gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

One year later, we are STILL waiting for action from Congress, while the national media has largely moved on.

Join in solidarity with Gulf Coast communities as they stand up and say: "The Oil Is Still Here, and So Are We!"

Late last week, two bills (S.861 and S.862) were introduced in the Senate calling for 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the BP oil disaster to return to the Gulf Coast. While this is an encouraging step, much more needs to be done to finally address the recovery needs of struggling Gulf communities.

Here's how you can help:

Call your senators and tell them we demand action NOW on legislation to restore the Gulf Coast, prevent future oil disasters, and end the billions in taxpayer handouts to negligent Big Oil companies.

Stand with Gulf Coast communities on Facebook as they counter Big Oil spin by telling the world "The Oil Is Still Here, and So Are We"

It's time to restore the Gulf Coast and protect all coastal communities from future tragedies. It's time to stop the billions in subsidies Big Oil receives every year while they continue to pollute our communities and endanger our health. And it's time to ensure that we never face another catastrophic spill by ending our dangerous and deadly addiction to oil.

Don't let politicians and the media forget the devastation caused by the BP oil disaster -- spread the word about tomorrow's one year anniversary.

Thanks for all that you do to protect the environment.

Sarah Hodgdon
Sierra Club Conservation Director

Gulf Coast Health Forum April, 2011

Gulf Coast Health Forum
April, 2011

                 

For Immediate Release

April 19, 2011 12:00 pm EDT

Contact: John Amos, President, 304.260.8886, John@skytruth.org

SkyTruth, SouthWings and Waterkeeper Alliance Launch Gulf of Mexico Monitoring Consortium

 Shepherdstown, WV. -  Today, SkyTruth, SouthWings, and Waterkeeper Alliance  launch the Gulf Monitoring Consortium:  an innovative partnership that is systematically monitoring oil pollution in the Gulf of Mexico with satellite images and mapping, aerial reconnaissance and photography, and on-the-water observation and sampling. This unique effort led by three non-profit organizations will collect and publish images, observations and sampling data of the Gulf of Mexico to rapidly respond to reported and suspected oil pollution incidents. SkyTruth, SouthWings and the Waterkeeper Alliance worked collaboratively during the 2010 Gulf disaster to use their unique expertise to bring the truth about the spill to the public. The natural fit of the services and tools of these organizations working together will help ensure that future disasters are quickly discovered and documented, and that the story is fully presented to the public. This newly formed alliance will actively bear witness to current, ongoing, and future oil pollution to fill the information gap exposed since the tragic BP / Deepwater Horizon explosion one year ago tomorrow.

During the BP spill SkyTruth, SouthWings and the Waterkeeper Alliance detected and documented an unrelated, chronic leak from a platform destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.  For several days following an oil spill that came ashore March 20 in Grand Isle, Louisiana, government officials provided little information to the public on the source or severity of the pollution. Concerned citizens, NGOs and the media scrambled to figure out what was happening, requesting help from our organizations.

“Damaging rumors and speculation take hold in the absence of good information, leading people in Gulf communities still reeling from the BP disaster to fear the worst: another major offshore spill” said John Amos, President of SkyTruth. “And the official government pollution reports, in many cases submitted by the polluters themselves, don’t match what we observe on satellite images. That’s why we’ve formed an alliance with SouthWings and Waterkeeper, to systematically evaluate reported or suspected pollution incidents in a coordinated approach from space, from the air, and on the water, so we can fill the dangerous information gap that currently exists.”

“Waterkeepers are on the frontline of suspected pollution holding both the government and industry accountable. This partnership allows us to collect and distribute information quickly that might otherwise take us days or even weeks to do so, allowing us to better stand up for our waterways and our communities” said Renee Blanchard, Save Our Gulf Coordinator for the Waterkeeper Alliance and Gulf coast native. “In the wake of the BP oil disaster there is a heightened interest in the number and size of Gulf coast oil spills. Gulf coast communities currently must navigate cumbersome governmental databases often with a large lag time to gather information on Gulf coast oil discharges.”

Of the Gulf Monitoring Consortium, Southwings Executive Director Hume Davenport states, “SouthWings’ volunteer pilots enable agents of change a view of environmental degradation, from a vantage point generally unavailable to non-profit organizations. This Alliance provides our colleagues as well as governmental decision makers and industry executives a go-to resource for accurate information on oil pollution incidents. We believe the data and imagery we capture and compile through this collaborative effort will result in better informed decisions to protect the Gulf of Mexico.”

The Gulf Monitoring Consortium is a rapid response alliance that collects, analyzes and publishes images and other information by space, air and water in order to bring truth to oil pollution incidents that occur in the Gulf of Mexico.

SkyTruth uses satellite and aerial images to investigate and illustrate environmental incidents and issues.  SkyTruth’s President, John Amos, testified on the risks posed by offshore drilling at a November 2009 hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources.  SkyTruth is headquartered in Shepherdstown, WV, and champions the use of imagery to investigate and monitor the management of public lands and waters.  

SouthWings enables those we fly to better understand, from an otherwise inaccessible vantage point, the globally significant ecosystems of the Southeast. Through the aerial perspective, SouthWings' service provides experiential understanding of environmental challenges and opportunities for conservation. This perspective fosters understanding of scale/magnitude, and the relationships of cumulative and compounding environmental effects. We provide a means to educate the public and elected officials, media, community leaders, researchers and conservation organizations.

Waterkeeper Alliance provides a way for communities to stand up for their right to clean water and for the wise and equitable use of water resources, both locally and globally.  The vision of the Waterkeeper movement is for fishable, swimmable and drinkable waterways worldwide.  Our belief is that the best way to achieve this vision is through the Waterkeeper method of grassroots advocacy.

Gulf Monitoring Consortium Spokespeople:

SkyTruth – John Amos, President, 304-260-8886 mobile / 304-885-4581 office

SouthWings – Hume Davenport, Executive Director, 828-225-5949

Waterkeeper Alliance – Renee Blanchard, Save Our Gulf Coordinator, 202-370-3704

Louisiana BAYOUKEEPER goes to London to protest BP

Louisiana BAYOUKEEPERs Mike Roberts and Tracy Kuhns traveled to London to attend BP stockholder meetings WITH PROXIES. Neither was allowed to enter by authority of PB=Been Peed on!

I love being a part of this WATERKEEPER family! Congratulations to Mike and Tracy for their heroic attempt to bring reason to BP.

Mike told me " I can't speak in front of cameras" when I filmed the video below this CNN take. I have to disagree! Mike and Tracy  personify the voice of the Gulf Fishermen


http://bpoilslick.blogspot.com/2010/05/bp-slick-and-life-on-bayou-barataria.html

 

Fishing For Answers In The Gulf

Fishing For Answers In The Gulf
Dean Blanchard speaks out about the fishing situation in the Gulf of Mexico
http://www.hulu.com/nbc-nightly-news-with-brian-williams

What lies Beneath: Oil Still Lurks Under Surface

Clean Water Act Fines Must Be Returned To Gulf Coast States!April 18, 2011

Dear Friends,   It's time to stand with our Gulf Coast Waterkeepers and demand that Congress return all Clean Water Act penalties to the Gulf Coast.  Write To Your U.S. Congressional Representative Right Now!

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon well exploded 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The explosion killed eleven men and triggered the biggest environmental disaster our nation has ever seen. Between April 20 and July 18, it is estimated that 250 million gallons of oil were discharged into our environment. The number of gallons discharged is extremely important, not just to help us understand how much oil we have left to clean up, but also to help the government determine an accurate penalty for violating the Clean Water Act. There is no federal legislation requiring BP's Clean Water Act fines are returned to the Gulf Coast where they belong. If a disaster similar to this were to happen in your community, there is no guarantee that any of the resulting penalties would return to your community to help with restoration. When you cut your finger, the place to put the Band-aid is on your finger. When an oil company damages the Gulf of Mexico with a major oil spill, the place to put the fines is back in the states along the Gulf Coast. We need your help to keep the pressure on Congress to make sure that BP pays to restore the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf communities.   One year later, the Gulf Coast still needs your help. The BP oil disaster is not over.  The oil is not gone.  Gulf communities have still not been made whole again.

Click To Write Your U.S. Congressional Representatives Right Now   Please take action right now to stand with your Gulf Coast neighbors! Sincerely, Your Friends At Waterkeeper Alliance The Voice of the World's Water Waterkeeper Alliance 17 Battery Place, Suite 1329 New York, NY  10004 o. 212.747.0622 f. 212.7470.611 email: info1@waterkeeper.org Web: www.waterkeeper.org

"5 Million Barrels of Oil Does Not Disappear": Author, Activist Antonia Juhasz on the BP Spill, One Year Later

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the worst maritime oil spill in history. Last year on April 20 an oil rig leased by oil giant BP exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and releasing nearly 200 million gallons of oil, tens of millions of gallons of natural gas and 1.8 million gallons of chemicals. We speak to Antonia Juhasz, author of the new book, Black Tide: The Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill. Juhasz attended the BP shareholders meeting in London last week and spoke on behalf of Gulf Coast residents denied entry. [includes rush transcript]