Gulf Coast Catastrophe
Blog posts categorized as Gulf Oil Spill
- Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins: Five Years After Katrina, the Gulf Is Showing All of Us the Way Forward
- As August draws to a close, we face a somber, sobering anniversary. Five years ago, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The storm — and the horrifying ineptitude of the relief efforts before, during, and after — left the region devastated. Most of those who died or were abandoned to "sink or swim" were poor people, people of color, or both.
- BISCO: Building Capacity, Voice, and Power in Southeastern Louisiana
- In the southeastern Louisiana bayou parishes of Lafourche and Terrebonne, BISCO (Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing) builds the voice and power of local residents to address the most pressing issues facing their communities. The disasters of the last five years — Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, and the BP Oil Drilling Disaster this year — have severely impacted our two parishes. The fallout from these disasters may seem local, but are important regionally and nationally.
- The Alliance Institute: The Quest for Fairness and Equality Continues in the Gulf Region
- Five years after Hurricane Katrina, one of the most striking problems in the recovery from the storm has been that states are exercising too much power and the federal government too little. This imbalance has had a terrible impact on poor communities.
- Mary Queen of Viet Nam: Building a Green Future in the Gulf, from the Ground Up
- After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans residents were scattered all over the country. Rebuilding our community was the most pressing — and most daunting — task facing Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community Development Corporation (MQVN CDC). We organized to help our congregation come home, and about 90% of the people who lived near the church returned.
- Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University
- Five years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, much of our work at the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice has been focused on research, policy, community outreach and assistance, and education needs of the displaced minority population of New Orleans.
- From Oil Spill to Oil Dump: The Dirty Secret of BP's Clean-Up
- When oil was steadily gushing out of BP's broken oil pipeline into the Gulf of Mexico, we were all desperate to stop the flow and get the oil that had already spilled safely out of the water. Sadly, we paid too little attention to where that oil would go once clean-up workers removed it from the Gulf waters. Now we know: far too much of it is being dumped in communities of color.
- Our Fight For American Independence
- This weekend, we celebrate America's independence from Britain. Once again, we must rise up and fight for America's independence. This time, instead of forcing someone else to let us go free, it is we who must let go, we who must change.
- VIDEO: Visiting the Gulf Coast, Part Two: United Houma Nation in the Bayou
- In May, I flew down to New Orleans to help coordinate several days of meetings and video interviews related to the BP oil catastrophe. Green For All wanted to tell the stories of how the spill was affecting the communities of the Gulf Coast on the ground. When I went down there, I didn't know much about the spill or its impact on the people of the Gulf Coast — just what the media had reported. The people I met there taught me a lot. This is the second of two posts in which I do my best to pass some of that knowledge along.
- Gulf Coast Communities: Feeling the Economic Impact of the Oil Spill - Part One
- Two weeks ago, I flew down to New Orleans to help coordinate several days of meetings and video interviews related to the BP oil catastrophe. Green For All wanted to tell the stories of how the spill was affecting the communities of the Gulf Coast on the ground. When I went down there, I didn't know much about the spill or its impact on the people of the Gulf Coast — just what the media had reported. The people I met there taught me a lot. This is the first of two posts in which I'm going to do my best to pass some of that knowledge along.
- 30 Days of Guessing, One Dirty Reality
- On April 20th, the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico tragically killing eleven men working on the BP oil rig and choking the Gulf Coast with millions of gallons of oil — oil that is still pouring into the waters today. Thirty days later, we are no closer to knowing how to contain and stop the leak, or how extensive — or long-lasting — the damage will be. But we have been awakened to the dirty realities of our fossil-fuel addiction.
- Vietnamese Community Leads New Orleans Towards Clean New Industries
- With a heavy base in the fishing industry, the local Vietnamese community has been one of the hardest hit. Now community leaders are determined to create quality, long-term green jobs to offset the economic costs of the oil spill.
- Unheard Voices from the Gulf Coast
- Low-income communities and communities of color have the most to gain from a clean-energy future and the most to lose under the current dirty economy. Their livelihoods are prisoners of, and sadly victims to, our current energy policy. We are seeing this tragic tale unfold in neighborhoods across New Orleans.
- Growing Opportunities
- Finally back up on their two feet after Hurricane Katrina, people in New Orleans are threatened once again by the current oil spill catastrophe's triple whammy: potential elimination of thousands of fishing jobs; rising costs of food and other imports; and reduced income from tourism — not to mention the adverse environmental impact on people's lives. Offsetting the damage caused by this dirty energy disaster is the community garden/local food production model in New Orleans, a sparkling gem in the midst of the wreckage.
- Finding Hope in Tragedy
- In the face of the multiple calamities that have occurred in the lives of New Orleanians, innovative and successful models for community sustainability have emerged over the past few years. All across the city, from the 9th Ward to the Tremé to Mid-City, enterprising residents have taken part in transforming vacant lots and reviving their neighborhoods' vitality by planting community gardens.
- New Orleans Rally: Standing Together for a Clean Energy Future
- As Green For All's team on the ground in New Orleans covers the unfolding Gulf Coast Catastrophe, all over the nation people are calling for a clean, green economy that makes it makes it possible for people to have dignified work that also protects their health and the health of communities.
- Opportunity in Disaster
- The recent oil spill in the Gulf Coast has added yet another challenge to the recovery in New Orleans, even though much progress has been made following the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina.
- Vietnamese Fishermen Hit Hard by Oil Slick
- The Vietnamese community has been hit hard by the Gulf Coast oil slick. Today they mobilized, seeking answers from public officials on how to aid their community during this crisis and beyond. According to Virginia Brisley from SEEDCO Financial, whose working to put together a fisheries assistance resource guide, nearly half of all fishermen who have been affected by the Gulf Coast oil slick are Vietnamese.
- Gulf Seafood Workers On Edge
- Mike Voisan, President of Motivatit Seafoods, and his staff are unsure of what the future holds. The ever-growing oil slick on the Gulf Coast has not yet reached their shores, but they know that catastrophe is coming. Today they talked with Green For All at their Houma, Louisiana-based oyster processing facility. Established in 1971, Motivatit Seafoods is a business owned by a family that has been in the seafood industry for over six generations.
- Local Communities Mobilize in New Orleans
- In response to the oil spill tragedy in the Gulf, local communities are mobilizing to respond to the environmental disaster and economic hardships already visible in the region. Green For All's team was in New Orleans today to speak with community activists at a meeting of the Green Collaborative, a network of organizations involved in environmental justice and sustainability.
- "America the Beautiful" Is Under Threat
- A massive ecological and human disaster is unfurling in the Gulf Coast. An estimated five thousand barrels of crude oil steadily spew into the Gulf every day, threatening the lives, health, economy, and environment of an entire region. When will it stop?
