Gulf of Mexico
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Good News From the Past and the Dump
In a week that saw more oil wash over Gulf of Mexico shores and more oil lobbying money wash over Congress – – both with predictable results – – I thought we could all use some good news and reasons to be hopeful. I found that inspiration on a trip to Germany and the UK […]
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Bigger ‘Dead Zone’ projected for Gulf, even without oil’s effects
A satellite view of past Dead Zone in the Gulf: The red areas show how a vast, nitrogen-fed algae bloom has risen, blotting out most sea life underneath.(NASA)The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just released a report that contains even more bad news for the Gulf of Mexico. This year’s Gulf Dead Zone will be […]
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Expert measures human cost of Gulf oil leak
Dr. J. Steven Picou is Professor of Sociology at the University of South Alabama. He is currently working on human response to the BP oil spill.Photo courtesy of stevenpicou.com Steven Picou doesn’t have the happiest of jobs. He specializes in the human toll of disasters. As a sociology professor at the University of South Alabama […]
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Big Oil Shakes Down US Taxpayers
Last week, oil company executives testified to Congress about energy policy in the wake of BP’s ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. A casual observer may have thought we were transported to an alternate universe. At one session, Representative Joe Barton of Texas apologized to BP for what he called a White House “shakedown” […]
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60 Percent of U.S. Tidal Marshes Threatened By BP Oil Slick
New data released by NOAA shows that the massive BP oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is already contaminating one major protected North American Marine Ecoregion, containing more than 60 percent of America’s tidal marshes. The slick also threatens to impact at least two more Ecoregions in the near future. The site of the […]
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Oil spill threatens to smother Gulf Coast food cultures
Normally this Louisiana boat would be trawling for shrimp, not oil(Photo courtesy Juanita Constible via Flickr) With more than 20 million gallons of oil already let loose in the Gulf of Mexico, fishermen, gator hunters and even farmers are waking up to the fact that the diversity of foods they depend upon for their livelihoods […]
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VIDEO: Is Gulf seafood safe to eat after oil spill?
New Orleans is world-famous for its seafood, but the Gulf Coast oil spill has left the future of the industry and those who rely on it for their livelihoods in jeopardy as fishing grounds close and diners fear for the safety of their meals. In this video, OnEarth magazine examines the impact of the Deepwater […]
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Every Day We Delay…
As the Gulf Coast oil disaster shows, America has a failed national energy policy. We need a new clean energy policy to break our addiction to oil, enhance our national security, limit carbon pollution and lead us to clean American energy. Last June, the House passed a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill. But so […]
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What if the oil spill just can’t be fixed?
The BP Gulf oil disaster is reaching an interesting phase. People’s gut instinct, their first reaction, is to find someone to blame. They blame BP for negligence; the Obama administration for its tepid response; the Bush administration for lax regulatory enforcement. People have been casting about for some way to compartmentalize this thing, some way […]
