Below is a guest post from a woman who has worked tirelessly to continue to keep the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the 11 deaths, and all that has followed in the forefront of our collective minds.
No matter what you believe about this explorer, one thing I know for sure is that if Captain Columbus had been the master of an outboard-powered vessel and run into the issues I ran into on a recent wetland tour, he would have never reached land nor been able to do any evil deed there.
I wish I could report something positive to you, because I hate being the continual bearer of bad news.
But bad news is upon us, and the BP oi lspill is most likely to blame.
Floating Islands? Really? Yes, really, but not the kind of islands you might be thinking of. These are man made and hopefully not the kind humans will ever be deserted on. They serve a much greater purpose, and the concept just blew me away.
In the spring of 2010, my email box was inundated with writers looking for the softer side of the story of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and following oil spill disaster. These seekers of a different angle flocked to my bayou to interview my shrimping neighbors. As a wetland advocate, I wondered how I could use this man-made disaster as a platform to further the cause of education and awareness.
It became clear to me early on that most of the journalists who arrived at my door really had no clue about our culture and way of life. So, if they wanted a story about how the oil spill had impacted us, then they must humor me and allow me to educate them about this vanishing ecosystem and its people.
What these well-meaning journalists needed first was a foundational perspective from the standpoint of a population of coastal communities who were suffering yet one more blow to their way of life. As a woman who lives, works, and fishes here, I could give them that perspective, which was simply this:
This oil spill was not an isolated disaster for the people of coastal Louisiana. It was like being kicked when we were already down. And here’s why.
Last October, Bayou Grace Community Services opened their offices over in Chauvin, LA for Story Corps to set up their audio recording equipment and then invited folks to come do interviews about their families and how the oil spill had affected them. Now, a year later, Natural Resources Defense Council has teamed up with Discovery…