I thought I was finished but this item wouldn't let me. In a classic example of "Who's zooming who?", the AP reports on some of the contracts awarded by the government in the cleanup of the BP oil spill.
I would have loved to get the $10,000 for the three minutes of video the guy in Baton Rouge got. I've shot about 15 hours of tape and produced about 3 hours of video features. I'm not getting dime one.
Showing posts with label BP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BP. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Local Heroes and Parting Thoughts
After two months, a dozen video reports and over 40 stories on the blog, it’s time to end the little red tar balls project and get back to a real job. But there’s a story I call “Local Heroes” that needs to be told. They have done nothing as spectacular as walking on the moon but to life on the Gulf Coast it’s every bit as important. All they are doing is working every day to preserve their coast. Their home.
I’ve recorded some of these people on camera. I’ve talked with many more with the camera safely in its case. These are the people get up every morning and live their personal and professional lives. In that way, they keep the Gulf moving forward.
I spoke with a woman on a lunch van who sets up every day only a few hundred yards from a major mustering point for the oil spill response team in Slidell, Louisiana. The spill workers have their lunches shipped in so her business is in the bin compared to other years, but she still sets up shop every day.
I spoke to several shrimpers who are having their nets torn up by the anchors that were used to secure the oil booms. When removing the booms, the workers didn’t winch up the anchors. They just cut the mooring lines leaving the anchors on the bottom all sharp and pointy. But the shrimpers still cast their nets and try to figure out how to deal with that sharp debris.
I’ve talked to entrepreneurs whose businesses are hurting because the summer tourist season simply didn’t happen this year. Some businesses have failed and others still may. The rest soldier on.
These are some of my local heroes.
Each of the local folks I interviewed on camera are most certainly local heroes. In the order they appeared in the video vignettes, they are…
Kenny DiNero, because the spill has put him up against the wall in so many ways. More than most, probably. Last week I asked him what was happening with his claim. BP came back with a payment offer of only 5% of his losses for this year. Five percent? Are they serious? He also went to a meeting with Ken Feinberg, the head of the government agency that’s taken over the claims process and didn’t feel any more confident about a realistic outcome. Through his frustration, he keeps on fighting for his business and his personal financial survival.
Finley Hughes and Dustin Renaud, because they facilitate a massive effort that will help scientists understand the effects of the spilled oil and the dispersants on the wildlife. They work cheerfully and, it appears, tirelessly. Finley drags himself all across the coast to work with different Audubon groups and external entities increasing their effectiveness. Dustin works with an ever-changing cast of volunteers to comb the coast for precious data points to feed to scientists. Plus, being a local, he is passionate about how the oil has hurt his coast and his beaches.
Darlene Carter, because she loves her home town and her community and refuses to sit idly by when there’s trouble. In the five years since Katrina and the birth of the Moss Point Visionary Circle, Darlene and members of her community have developed numerous programs to instill values in the youth and teach the power of personal empowerment to everyone. As I think I said here when I first posted her video, what MPVC does is in the best American tradition. Find a problem and mobilize community resources to solve it. There’s no waiting for the government or some outside group to come in and fix it for them. It’s see and do. Right now.
Barbara Ruddiman, because she makes sure that people get fed that otherwise might not have a good meal and she does it week in and week out. She works the logistics to make it all work and figures how to make it work for more people because there are others who really need a good meal. Did I mention that “The Lord Is My Help” was started by Kenny DeNiro’s mother and that the lady with white hair behind the counter is 100 years old and is Kenny’s grandmother? They are my heroes too.
Mark LaSalle, because he seeks the truth in the science in his studies on the Gulf. He has no agenda or ax to grind. He simply wants to know what’s happening as a result of the oil and the dispersant. The fact that he’s passionate, self effacing and has a wicked but subtle sense of humor make him a lot of fun to spend time with.
Bill Stallworth, Debi Thomas and all the people at Hope CDA, because they care. But more than that, they’ve taken that concern for their neighbors and their community and converted it into a powerful force, supported by tireless energy and amazing good cheer. I don’t think I’ve ever met so many good hearted and committed people all in one place. Did I mention they are also very, very bright? What I’ve seen them do, with my own eyes is amazing.
Each of these people and so many people I never got to meet are all local heroes to me.
I will admit here, in this final post of the Little Red Tar Balls Project, that I have some very strong political views. I have done my best to keep them out of the stories told here. Only you can judge if I’ve been successful. What I do like about all of the people I’ve talked with is their spirit of self reliance. It appeals to the libertarian streak in me. Even the Steps Coalition with a left leaning approach to things, have the same spirit. They watch over their neighborhoods and communities and take action when they think it’s needed.
How many of us have seen bad things going on around them and done nothing to change it… to help. I have and I’ve never been proud of that. It took me 57 years on this planet to get involved. All I could do was help these people tell their stories and to try to shed some light on what’s really happening down here. Had I been from this area and had roots in a town or city I could have connected to some group to be more hands-on. But I wasn’t. So I came down here to tell stories.
If my opinion is worth anything, this sort of self reliance and involvement needs to be exported from the Gulf coast to the big cities and suburbs all over this country. Transplant this spirit to St. Louis, Missouri, Long Beach, California, Fredrick, Maryland or anyplace where issues need tending. Keep the political agendas out of it and big things can happen. You can see it up in Harlem where a lot of people are improving public education with their charter school initiatives.
The improvements might not be as big as we’d like, but each step in the right direction is one step farther from the wrong direction. We must add our light to the sum of light because as Bill Stallworth recounted in his interview, “Evil thrives when good men and good women do nothing.”
Richard Lucas
September 9, 2010
Biloxi, Mississippi
I’ve recorded some of these people on camera. I’ve talked with many more with the camera safely in its case. These are the people get up every morning and live their personal and professional lives. In that way, they keep the Gulf moving forward.
I spoke with a woman on a lunch van who sets up every day only a few hundred yards from a major mustering point for the oil spill response team in Slidell, Louisiana. The spill workers have their lunches shipped in so her business is in the bin compared to other years, but she still sets up shop every day.
I spoke to several shrimpers who are having their nets torn up by the anchors that were used to secure the oil booms. When removing the booms, the workers didn’t winch up the anchors. They just cut the mooring lines leaving the anchors on the bottom all sharp and pointy. But the shrimpers still cast their nets and try to figure out how to deal with that sharp debris.
I’ve talked to entrepreneurs whose businesses are hurting because the summer tourist season simply didn’t happen this year. Some businesses have failed and others still may. The rest soldier on.
These are some of my local heroes.
Each of the local folks I interviewed on camera are most certainly local heroes. In the order they appeared in the video vignettes, they are…
Kenny DiNero, because the spill has put him up against the wall in so many ways. More than most, probably. Last week I asked him what was happening with his claim. BP came back with a payment offer of only 5% of his losses for this year. Five percent? Are they serious? He also went to a meeting with Ken Feinberg, the head of the government agency that’s taken over the claims process and didn’t feel any more confident about a realistic outcome. Through his frustration, he keeps on fighting for his business and his personal financial survival.
Finley Hughes and Dustin Renaud, because they facilitate a massive effort that will help scientists understand the effects of the spilled oil and the dispersants on the wildlife. They work cheerfully and, it appears, tirelessly. Finley drags himself all across the coast to work with different Audubon groups and external entities increasing their effectiveness. Dustin works with an ever-changing cast of volunteers to comb the coast for precious data points to feed to scientists. Plus, being a local, he is passionate about how the oil has hurt his coast and his beaches.
Darlene Carter, because she loves her home town and her community and refuses to sit idly by when there’s trouble. In the five years since Katrina and the birth of the Moss Point Visionary Circle, Darlene and members of her community have developed numerous programs to instill values in the youth and teach the power of personal empowerment to everyone. As I think I said here when I first posted her video, what MPVC does is in the best American tradition. Find a problem and mobilize community resources to solve it. There’s no waiting for the government or some outside group to come in and fix it for them. It’s see and do. Right now.
Barbara Ruddiman, because she makes sure that people get fed that otherwise might not have a good meal and she does it week in and week out. She works the logistics to make it all work and figures how to make it work for more people because there are others who really need a good meal. Did I mention that “The Lord Is My Help” was started by Kenny DeNiro’s mother and that the lady with white hair behind the counter is 100 years old and is Kenny’s grandmother? They are my heroes too.
Mark LaSalle, because he seeks the truth in the science in his studies on the Gulf. He has no agenda or ax to grind. He simply wants to know what’s happening as a result of the oil and the dispersant. The fact that he’s passionate, self effacing and has a wicked but subtle sense of humor make him a lot of fun to spend time with.
Bill Stallworth, Debi Thomas and all the people at Hope CDA, because they care. But more than that, they’ve taken that concern for their neighbors and their community and converted it into a powerful force, supported by tireless energy and amazing good cheer. I don’t think I’ve ever met so many good hearted and committed people all in one place. Did I mention they are also very, very bright? What I’ve seen them do, with my own eyes is amazing.
Each of these people and so many people I never got to meet are all local heroes to me.
I will admit here, in this final post of the Little Red Tar Balls Project, that I have some very strong political views. I have done my best to keep them out of the stories told here. Only you can judge if I’ve been successful. What I do like about all of the people I’ve talked with is their spirit of self reliance. It appeals to the libertarian streak in me. Even the Steps Coalition with a left leaning approach to things, have the same spirit. They watch over their neighborhoods and communities and take action when they think it’s needed.
How many of us have seen bad things going on around them and done nothing to change it… to help. I have and I’ve never been proud of that. It took me 57 years on this planet to get involved. All I could do was help these people tell their stories and to try to shed some light on what’s really happening down here. Had I been from this area and had roots in a town or city I could have connected to some group to be more hands-on. But I wasn’t. So I came down here to tell stories.
If my opinion is worth anything, this sort of self reliance and involvement needs to be exported from the Gulf coast to the big cities and suburbs all over this country. Transplant this spirit to St. Louis, Missouri, Long Beach, California, Fredrick, Maryland or anyplace where issues need tending. Keep the political agendas out of it and big things can happen. You can see it up in Harlem where a lot of people are improving public education with their charter school initiatives.
The improvements might not be as big as we’d like, but each step in the right direction is one step farther from the wrong direction. We must add our light to the sum of light because as Bill Stallworth recounted in his interview, “Evil thrives when good men and good women do nothing.”
Richard Lucas
September 9, 2010
Biloxi, Mississippi
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Phenomenal People
One would have to have been living under a rock not to know that it was five years ago last Sunday that Katrina roared ashore onto the Gulf Coast. The network and local media coverage showed the recovery work done over the years and stated that there still was more work to do. That's true, but they also have to deal with the BP oil spill. So one crisis has been largely handled but there's another one simmering under the Gulf waters and the fat part of the hurricane season is upon them.
What's become clear to me over the last months is that these people are fighters. They have to be because life down here isn't that easy. It isn't easy anywhere but places are few where entire communities can have their houses ripped apart in a single day. Beginning August 30, 2005 Moss Point started rebuilding. So did Waveland and Pascagoula. Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Bay St. Louis and all the coastal towns and cities started the long march back to their new normal. They had help from individuals and groups of people who came down from around the country to help them rebuild. They are Phenomenal People, and there was a week-long celebration of that recovery that lead up to the anniversary. Although at first glance it doesn't seem like there's a connection, but there is. You see these people came back from an epic nightmare. Now they face another one with the oil spill and what they all really want is a break to catch their breath.
I'm including a video piece here because it shows the kind of people that live here and that they are going to fight through the oil spill and come out the other side whole. It's a different kind of fight than Katrina, and it will take different skills and talents to do it, but the brains and the talent are here. There's another thing here too... grit. Most of these people don't know anything about giving up.
They'll need that ability now because this spill will take years to play out.
Follow the link to ExposureRoom to watch in HD.
What's become clear to me over the last months is that these people are fighters. They have to be because life down here isn't that easy. It isn't easy anywhere but places are few where entire communities can have their houses ripped apart in a single day. Beginning August 30, 2005 Moss Point started rebuilding. So did Waveland and Pascagoula. Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Bay St. Louis and all the coastal towns and cities started the long march back to their new normal. They had help from individuals and groups of people who came down from around the country to help them rebuild. They are Phenomenal People, and there was a week-long celebration of that recovery that lead up to the anniversary. Although at first glance it doesn't seem like there's a connection, but there is. You see these people came back from an epic nightmare. Now they face another one with the oil spill and what they all really want is a break to catch their breath.
I'm including a video piece here because it shows the kind of people that live here and that they are going to fight through the oil spill and come out the other side whole. It's a different kind of fight than Katrina, and it will take different skills and talents to do it, but the brains and the talent are here. There's another thing here too... grit. Most of these people don't know anything about giving up.
They'll need that ability now because this spill will take years to play out.
Follow the link to ExposureRoom to watch in HD.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Three Misses and Next, What?
Meet "Invest 98". That's weathergeek-speak for the next thing to watch in the tropics. This one looks like it could head into the Gulf, but it's still way to early to tell for sure. The National Weather Service currently only gives this a 20% chance of developing into a tropical storm, but that could change by the time you read this.
The Gulf doesn't need this for a host of reasons. Well, nobody does really. However, a tropical storm or hurricane in the Gulf will raise a bunch of new questions about all that missing oil. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, both in the real world and in the press. Hopefully there won't be too much to talk about.
UPDATE: This is now tropical depression Gaston. It's still too early to know what it's going to be or where it's going to go, but if I was in Belize, I'd be nervous. This will bear watching to see if it turns north or barrels into the Yucatan.
Earl will play out its dance up the North American east coast by early Saturday.
FINAL UPDATE: Overnight, TD Gaston dissipated to the point where it's no longer being tracked by the National Weather Service. They are, however, tracking two more tropical waves moving west from the African coast.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
A New Claims Process Begins Tomorrow
Clearly this will take time to play out to completion, and many things can change. But if past is prologue, one might look at the five years since Katrina to see how many people were not given a fair shake by insurance companies, FEMA and others entities.
I do not have first hand information on any claims made against BP except one. The one from Kenny DiNero, owner of a bait/tackle shop in Ocean Springs. He also runs a couple of boats to catch shrimp. He was my first interview back in July who had filed a claim with BP for lost business with his boats in early July.
I stopped down to his place this past Friday. After buying me a beer, he extracted from an envelope a small stack of papers, one of which contained the heading "Forensic Accounting". The net result was that BP was going to pay Kenny a little more than $4,200 for his losses in April, May, June and part of July. I did not study the documents in detail, nor would it have done much good if I had. I'm lousy with numbers. However, does it seem that about $1,200 per month is the right amount of compensation for bringing his business to a halt?
I will add that I've talked with community leaders, including two at the Tears to Cheers Music Festival on the Beach yesterday in Biloxi who said that large numbers of people are getting only fractions of what would be fair restitution for their hardship. I am hoping to get an interview with one of those leaders this week.
If a florist in Florida or a restauranteur in Idaho get paid off but local Gulf people and business get shortchanged then there is much wrong with the situation down here.
Who's Covering The Spill?
The AP is a wire service. Their job is to write stories and feed them to all manner of outlets around the world. They provide a valuable service for smaller news outlets with limited staff, furnishing regional, state-wide and national stories to fill out broadcast newscasts and a newspaper's blank column inches. Working weekends in small market radio stations I would go to the clanking black machine in the news room to pull copy for hourly newscasts. It was called, "Rip and read". That concept appears alive and well today as newspapers, blogs and other media rely on the AP, Reuters and other smaller news services pump out the news each day.
How pervasive is the use of AP stories? Google "New guidelines could rule out many oil claims"
or click this link and see how many times the AP story with this title shows up. The first three pages of Google results I saw showed the story on web sites from ABC, CBS, Newsmax, Breitbart, Yahoo, SFGate, USA Today and many of the other usual suspects. It also appears on web sites of local stations from coastal Mississippi's WLOX-TV to stations in Washington, DC, Las Vegas, Boise and Santa Barbara.
So what's the problem? The word is getting out across the country to media outlets large and small. No, that's not the problem. The fact that they are all re-transmitting stories from a single source is. There is no equivalent, competitive news source that might have access to different facts and views from different sources. Think of it like only being able to get your news from MSNBC, Fox News or CNN. No matter how fair or balanced they claim to be, you're only going to hear from their sources through their reporters. Not a good environment for differing perspectives to get out. Not differing opinions, but different perspectives.
I don't know what the solution to this problem might be. News gathering, especially investigative reporting is a costly business. Even more so when the subject is so technically complex as the BP oil spill. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) recently laid off staff from their news organization, big city newspapers are bankrupt and Newsweek magazine was recently sold for just a dollar. When there's no reasonable revenue stream in these efforts, it's impossible to justify the spend.
Please do not satisfy yourself by saying there are leagues of "citizen journalists" or bloggers (Iike me) who will step in to fill the gap. They cannot. Not in the way an honest journalist can. They don't adhere to the same standards of fact-checking and source corroboration that legitimate reporters are trained to do. Also, many of these bloggers exist to promote some political agenda. Left, right. Government or business. They often report based upon their talking points which isn't reporting at all. It's editorializing. Not much help if you are looking for the truth.
What's left is getting the story for yourself. Hard to do if you're in Presque Isle, Maine or Tierra del Fuego. But those closer to the Gulf can talk and listen. Go to public meetings on the spill or government town hall meetings. Have a beer at a local pub or tavern and sit at the bar. Talk to those on your left and right and find out what they know, or have only just heard. Go to the marinas and talk with the fishermen. Go to the restaurants and talk to the owners. Listen to whoever will talk with you. Sure, you will get a lot of opinions and second-hand information but some facts will surface as well. Then it's up to you to form your own opinions. Share it all with people you know and listen to what they have to say. After all that, if you don't like what's happening, go out and do something about it.
Like legendary San Francisco radio commentator Wes "Scoop" Nisker says, "If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own."
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Crab Processor Takes Hit
Although this video was recorded in late June, I've added it here because it has many of the same sentiments that Kenny DiNero expressed in his interview. Here's the description of the clip from the producer.
Maybe it's just me, but I sense a similar frustration in this video as I did with Kenny and others that I've talked with off camera. There is still a real danger that operations like Dennis' and Kenny's will go out of business until the world believes that the seafood in the Gulf is safe to eat, and no one knows how long that is going to take.
Dennis Landry, owner of a prosperous (until this massive toxic dump by British Petroleum) wholesale crab processing operation in Larose, La., is potentially facing financial ruin because of the British Petroleum oil dump into the Gulf of Mexico. Like all the residents of South Louisiana, Dennis is NOT AGAINST OIL AND GAS, he and his neighbors just want it done right, with proper and effective safeguards and regulation, so that the fertile fisheries upon which about half the population depends for their livelihoods and family sustenance, can continue to survive and provide their generous bounty to the hard working people of South Louisiana.
Maybe it's just me, but I sense a similar frustration in this video as I did with Kenny and others that I've talked with off camera. There is still a real danger that operations like Dennis' and Kenny's will go out of business until the world believes that the seafood in the Gulf is safe to eat, and no one knows how long that is going to take.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Bayou: Nature's Nursery
As I spend more time in the Gulf and talk to more people who know this region I realize that it is an amazingly diverse and wondrous place. Unlike the shores of New England where I grew up that are famous for craggy bluffs and rocky shorelines, the Gulf coast is an alluvial creation of so many different rivers that drain from America's heartland. Inshore, these rivers create habitats comprised of marshes and swamps known as bayous. Bayous are homes for an amazingly diverse spectrum of wildlife. They are the breeding ground for countless creatures, provide protection from the elements and even other predators and they are an evolving and fragile ecosystem upon which the regions animal kingdom and humans so fully depend.
That is why so much work has gone into protecting these wetlands from the incursion of oil from the BP spill. In some areas this work has been effective, but in others closer to the source of the oil, things have not gone as well. Bayous and salt marshes on the Louisiana mainland and coastal islands have been the most at risk, and they remain exposed to the oil not recovered from the Gulf.
This piece is a tour of the bayous on the Pascagoula river. Captain Benny McCoy of McCoy River Tours takes us though the many swamps and marshes, and teaches us about the many cycles of life that go on there. If one wants to see nature's creatures, this is an excellent way to do that.
There was so much more that wasn't captured on camera that filled Benny's two hour tour. It was so very entertaining, fun and enlightening. He taught us about gators and egrets, flowers and marshmallows and the history of this place that most that don't live here probably never knew. For instance, did you know that parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana were once a country independent from the United States? Neither did I.
Special thanks to Captain Benny McCoy for his hospitality and expert commentary. I learned a lot of things I'd never known and saw a lot of things I never imagines. Also thanks to Mark LaSalle of the Pascagoula River Audubon Center for setting me up with this wonderful opportunity.
That is why so much work has gone into protecting these wetlands from the incursion of oil from the BP spill. In some areas this work has been effective, but in others closer to the source of the oil, things have not gone as well. Bayous and salt marshes on the Louisiana mainland and coastal islands have been the most at risk, and they remain exposed to the oil not recovered from the Gulf.
This piece is a tour of the bayous on the Pascagoula river. Captain Benny McCoy of McCoy River Tours takes us though the many swamps and marshes, and teaches us about the many cycles of life that go on there. If one wants to see nature's creatures, this is an excellent way to do that.
There was so much more that wasn't captured on camera that filled Benny's two hour tour. It was so very entertaining, fun and enlightening. He taught us about gators and egrets, flowers and marshmallows and the history of this place that most that don't live here probably never knew. For instance, did you know that parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana were once a country independent from the United States? Neither did I.
Special thanks to Captain Benny McCoy for his hospitality and expert commentary. I learned a lot of things I'd never known and saw a lot of things I never imagines. Also thanks to Mark LaSalle of the Pascagoula River Audubon Center for setting me up with this wonderful opportunity.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Unexpected Victims
The stories in this blog and in the videos come primarily from two sources. The first is when someone tells me that there’s someone I need to talk with and then I follow the trail. For example, there was a woman inspecting a beach in Gatier who told me about the work the Audubon Society was doing at their response center in Moss Point. Audubon’s Finley Hewes pointed me to the children’s symposium put on by the Moss Point Visionary Circle and that’s where I met Darlene Carter. It works like that sometimes.
The other times I stumble upon them, like this one. I was trying to turn around on the narrow streets of Ocean Springs and saw a soup kitchen called “The Lord Is My Help”. That got me wondering if the spill had effected them. It has. They have been squeezed from both ends because the number of people needing their help is up and the donations are down.
Their situation could possibly get worse as the Vessels of Opportunity (VOO) program is ended (which is happening now) and fewer tar balls float ashore lessening the need for cleanup workers. There are a lot of people who came into the area to take up this work. Some will stay and look for other work, but the economy is not kind to the unemployed these days. Some number of them will need the help of places like the “Lord Is My Help”. And now, they need yours.
The other times I stumble upon them, like this one. I was trying to turn around on the narrow streets of Ocean Springs and saw a soup kitchen called “The Lord Is My Help”. That got me wondering if the spill had effected them. It has. They have been squeezed from both ends because the number of people needing their help is up and the donations are down.
Their situation could possibly get worse as the Vessels of Opportunity (VOO) program is ended (which is happening now) and fewer tar balls float ashore lessening the need for cleanup workers. There are a lot of people who came into the area to take up this work. Some will stay and look for other work, but the economy is not kind to the unemployed these days. Some number of them will need the help of places like the “Lord Is My Help”. And now, they need yours.
Wings on the Ground
"What can I do to help out?"
That's probably the hardest question out there for most people when faced with the BP oil spill. There are no intuitive answers. You cannot just run out, find an oiled bird and clean it. You cannot walk down the beach picking up tar balls. You cannot buy a boat, install a giant vacuum and suck the oil out of the Gulf. But people still want to help.
The good news is that there are people and organizations whose jobs are to contribute to the recovery effort, like the National Audubon Society. They know birds and their habitats, and they have thrown their full weight behind this recovery effort.
With their unique expertise in the avian world, they have developed a variety of ways people can help... and you don't have to be in the Gulf region to do it. Sure, you can always donate money, but the Audubon Society can channel your efforts into something that can make a difference.
In this segment, I spoke with Finley Hewes and Dustin Renaud who spend each day marshaling the resources of the Audubon Society to action. Please watch this segment and pay attention to their answers to the question, "what can people do to help", in the second half of the video. They have a creative plan that I would never have thought of, and you do not have to be in the Gulf to do it.
That's probably the hardest question out there for most people when faced with the BP oil spill. There are no intuitive answers. You cannot just run out, find an oiled bird and clean it. You cannot walk down the beach picking up tar balls. You cannot buy a boat, install a giant vacuum and suck the oil out of the Gulf. But people still want to help.
The good news is that there are people and organizations whose jobs are to contribute to the recovery effort, like the National Audubon Society. They know birds and their habitats, and they have thrown their full weight behind this recovery effort.
With their unique expertise in the avian world, they have developed a variety of ways people can help... and you don't have to be in the Gulf region to do it. Sure, you can always donate money, but the Audubon Society can channel your efforts into something that can make a difference.
In this segment, I spoke with Finley Hewes and Dustin Renaud who spend each day marshaling the resources of the Audubon Society to action. Please watch this segment and pay attention to their answers to the question, "what can people do to help", in the second half of the video. They have a creative plan that I would never have thought of, and you do not have to be in the Gulf to do it.
View on ExposureRoom
Yesterday, I interviewed Dr. Mark LaSalle, also of the Audubon Society for a more scientific perspective on the oil spill. That interview is currently in post production and will be posted in the next day or two.
Thanks to Finley and Dustin for their time and hard work.
Yesterday, I interviewed Dr. Mark LaSalle, also of the Audubon Society for a more scientific perspective on the oil spill. That interview is currently in post production and will be posted in the next day or two.
Thanks to Finley and Dustin for their time and hard work.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
More Fishermen Feeling Pain
I have tried to keep politics out of this blog because I have no agenda beyond telling the stories of people living with the BP oil spill. Yes, the spill has a host of political implications but they are outside the scope of the Little Red Tar Balls project. As such, when I received a link to a video produced by the Coffee Party, I watched with an eye out for some political agenda or point of view. I didn't see one save the full screen at the end. But they want to build their movement and that is completely reasonable. (I would have viewed a link from someone in the Tea Party or any other political group with the same circumspection.)
That aside, this video, produced in mid-July, tells the story of some in the Gulf Coast Vietnamese fishing community in their own words with additional comments from Kaitlin Truong, the Chair for the group "Asian Americans for Change". The piece is well done and helps tell the broader story of what life is like in this region, right now.
Thanks to Kaitlin Truong for the video and Krystal Allan of WLOX TV for the connection and the ongoing moral support.
That aside, this video, produced in mid-July, tells the story of some in the Gulf Coast Vietnamese fishing community in their own words with additional comments from Kaitlin Truong, the Chair for the group "Asian Americans for Change". The piece is well done and helps tell the broader story of what life is like in this region, right now.
Thanks to Kaitlin Truong for the video and Krystal Allan of WLOX TV for the connection and the ongoing moral support.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Explore the Salt Marsh Ecosystem
This video from YouTube explains what makes up the salt marsh ecosystem along the Gulf coast and shows the myriad of life forms that depend on them. It's well done and easy to understand.
For those of you not from the Gulf, it will help you understand what is at risk if the oil contaminates these magical places.
For those of you not from the Gulf, it will help you understand what is at risk if the oil contaminates these magical places.
Moss Point: The People Step Up
This is a remarkable story that's as American as it gets. A story about a city coming together to help their community. To help each other, down to each individual person when the need arises. How this came about was the vision of Darlene Carter, the President and CEO of the Moss Point Visionary Circle.
This story covers a recent symposium on the BP spill sponsored by MPVC and an interview with Darlene Carter. She describes why they put on and the back story behind their organization. Her complete interview is included in the video.
After the camera stopped rolling, I asked Darlene to clarify what she said about working with outside alliances and consortia. She pointed back to the Katrina aftermath where those who waited for outside help took the longest time to recover. That was her "aha" moment. She saw the power, intelligence and spirit inside the people of Moss Point and set about organizing them into a formidable force to rebuild, restore and renew.
The MPVC's focus on the children makes sense. Any parent knows that it's the young ones who will ultimately take our places here. They need the best foundation that we can give them to build a better future. So they step in to help when parents' primary concerns are forced elsewhere, like how they are going to put food on the table. The sunlight of the world does not shine as brightly upon Moss Point as it does in more affluent communities so Darlene and the MPVC are making their own light.
This comes from a deep place in the American tradition. From the first days of the Colonies when Native Americans in Plymouth helped the Pilgrims bring in their first harvests, to the farms of the hills and plains where people pushed outward to build farms. Those communities came together to raise barns and lend a hand when times were tough.
It still goes on today, although it's not always visible for us to see. There are flashes that show up as "human interest" stories in print and electronic media but they are short shots that quickly fade. This story will stand in the sunlight that the people of Moss Point have made for themselves, adding their light to the sum of light.
This story covers a recent symposium on the BP spill sponsored by MPVC and an interview with Darlene Carter. She describes why they put on and the back story behind their organization. Her complete interview is included in the video.
After the camera stopped rolling, I asked Darlene to clarify what she said about working with outside alliances and consortia. She pointed back to the Katrina aftermath where those who waited for outside help took the longest time to recover. That was her "aha" moment. She saw the power, intelligence and spirit inside the people of Moss Point and set about organizing them into a formidable force to rebuild, restore and renew.
The MPVC's focus on the children makes sense. Any parent knows that it's the young ones who will ultimately take our places here. They need the best foundation that we can give them to build a better future. So they step in to help when parents' primary concerns are forced elsewhere, like how they are going to put food on the table. The sunlight of the world does not shine as brightly upon Moss Point as it does in more affluent communities so Darlene and the MPVC are making their own light.
This comes from a deep place in the American tradition. From the first days of the Colonies when Native Americans in Plymouth helped the Pilgrims bring in their first harvests, to the farms of the hills and plains where people pushed outward to build farms. Those communities came together to raise barns and lend a hand when times were tough.
It still goes on today, although it's not always visible for us to see. There are flashes that show up as "human interest" stories in print and electronic media but they are short shots that quickly fade. This story will stand in the sunlight that the people of Moss Point have made for themselves, adding their light to the sum of light.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Broader Business Dilemma
This new video pulls back from the story of how the spill effects one person and takes a more macro view and tries to quantify some of the impact with statistics. Now Samuel Langhorne Clemens (you know him better as Mark Twain) said, "There are three kinds of facts. Lies, damn lies and statistics." The company that did the survey in this video segment didn't disclose their sample size or methodologies so I cannot vouch for the validity of the results, but they seem reasonable.
Before we get to the facts, we look at Orange Beach, AL on the day that Jimmy Buffett played his benefit on the beach. I spoke with one parrothead who came over from Louisiana for the show. He and his group took pity on me, offering sun screen and bottled water.
All the good things that you've heard about southern hospitality is absolutely true.
Please watch this and the other videos and tell your coworkers, friends and family about it. Talk with them about the Gulf and what you can do to help the region bounce back. It's up to all of us, and every little bit will help.
UPDATE: I heard a radio advert and saw a billboard for a benefit concert to be headlined by Jay Leno at the Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi on August 21. He will be the only one on the bill with tickets starting at $40. They are available now.
I've seen Jay in a theater where he tests out material for "The Tonight Show" and he was very funny. Since he was playing to the crowd and not TV cameras, he came across very differently. Since I was sitting right in front of the small stage, I realized how very tall he really is.
It will be interesting to see how well it does since Leno and casinos appeal to a different demographic than Buffett doing a beach show, but it will undoubtedly help. Who will be the next to step up for a benefit?
Note: A couple of things. Please follow this blog. As a follower you will be kept up to date on new postings, which happen about once a day. A whole bunch of followers might raise our visibility. Also, you can always view higher resolution versions by clicking the link "View on ExposureRoom" under the video window.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Quick Update
It was a busy day today. I spent the morning shooting a couple of wonderful interviews at the Audubon support center this morning and am arranging for a third that I think will round out that video segment quite nicely. So that was time very well spent. These people, both the staff and volunteers are really working hard to make a difference, and their succeeding.
What I learned from them that sticks out is that you don't have to be here or open your wallet to help. Go to their web site and poke around a bit. If you live on a migratory route that passes through the Gulf region, you can set up a "feeding station" (my words) in your back yard where birds can chow down during their travels. If for some reason those birds' normal Gulf feeding grounds can't provide the food they need, you can help fatten them up a bit in preparation. They say it better than I do, so go there and see if you might be able to help.
The afternoon was spent at a community center in Moss Point where a presentation about the spill for kids had presentations from BP, the Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality and a host of other groups to inform the local children what was going on and to answer their questions. One child wondered when they could go back to the beach and swim. In Mississippi, they can now. The beaches are open. Another wanted to go fish. He can now. It's catch and release only, but that's for now. Another child asked, "What about the turtles, are they OK?" That just broke my heart. But it did my heart good to know that they care about what happens in their community. More on Moss Point in another post. I'm working on a video segment about this and will be online this week. It's second in the queue.
Finally, props go out to WLOX 10 TV for seeking out stories on the spill. I first met Krystal Allan at Kenny's bait shop when she was chasing a story. We've kept in touch and she's trying to help me with contacts and moral support. Big thanks to her for that. Today, Patrice Clark was on scene in Moss Point covering the presentations. She pitched something to me that has me intrigued. More on that in another post.
I haven't seen any other reporters or news vehicles in my travels except for in Orange Beach, AL for the Buffet show. Even CBS was there. For the local media I have a question. Can there be a more important story to your viewers, listeners and readers than the spill? Surely it touches their lives in large or small ways every day. Is there any other story you're following that does?
I want to say, "shame on you" to the other assignment editors, but I won't. Not yet.
What I learned from them that sticks out is that you don't have to be here or open your wallet to help. Go to their web site and poke around a bit. If you live on a migratory route that passes through the Gulf region, you can set up a "feeding station" (my words) in your back yard where birds can chow down during their travels. If for some reason those birds' normal Gulf feeding grounds can't provide the food they need, you can help fatten them up a bit in preparation. They say it better than I do, so go there and see if you might be able to help.
The afternoon was spent at a community center in Moss Point where a presentation about the spill for kids had presentations from BP, the Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality and a host of other groups to inform the local children what was going on and to answer their questions. One child wondered when they could go back to the beach and swim. In Mississippi, they can now. The beaches are open. Another wanted to go fish. He can now. It's catch and release only, but that's for now. Another child asked, "What about the turtles, are they OK?" That just broke my heart. But it did my heart good to know that they care about what happens in their community. More on Moss Point in another post. I'm working on a video segment about this and will be online this week. It's second in the queue.
Finally, props go out to WLOX 10 TV for seeking out stories on the spill. I first met Krystal Allan at Kenny's bait shop when she was chasing a story. We've kept in touch and she's trying to help me with contacts and moral support. Big thanks to her for that. Today, Patrice Clark was on scene in Moss Point covering the presentations. She pitched something to me that has me intrigued. More on that in another post.
I haven't seen any other reporters or news vehicles in my travels except for in Orange Beach, AL for the Buffet show. Even CBS was there. For the local media I have a question. Can there be a more important story to your viewers, listeners and readers than the spill? Surely it touches their lives in large or small ways every day. Is there any other story you're following that does?
I want to say, "shame on you" to the other assignment editors, but I won't. Not yet.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Scariest Words In The World
“I’m from the government and I’m here to help”. Yea, it’s an old joke but it’s appropriate for this post.
Let me introduce you to Kenny DiNero. He owns a bait and fuel dock in Ocean Springs and runs a couple of shrimp boats. I sat down with him this morning to talk about where the oil spill has put him and his business and what he told me was not pretty. I expected that because his business is at the nexus of everything hurt by the spill. Shrimping was banned so his boats had nothing to do. The charter business tanked because fishing was banned. Fishing tournaments were cancelled, and they were big ones.
One sad fact tells the tale. Yesterday, July 21, the shop brought in $214. That’s it. It was apparent that wasn’t going to come close to making his monthly nut.
So, he goes to the government to apply for remuneration for the business he’s lost. As he tells it, the person he spoke with couldn’t do anything relative to lost sales for bait and fuel, but he could help him file a claim on the two boats. The government needed a bunch of financial records including tax returns from 2007, 2008 and 2009. He pulls together what they need, delivers that to them and waits. After a while he called to find out what was going on. Kenny was told that he needed to resubmit all the paperwork again because the first set was filed away in an archive somewhere. Not a problem because he had copies. He sent them in and waited some more. So the short story is that almost a month has gone by and he’s yet to see a dollar, but the government rep said he should get a check in August.
That’s only part of the story that he told me for just over a half hour this morning in front of my camera. As he talked, it became clear that his situation is effected by a bunch of situations set in motion when the well blew. What came quickly clear to me is that Kenny DiNero is one sharp, hard working cat with a sly sense of humor even though he didn’t smile much or laugh at all. His situation wasn’t even remotely humorous.
I can’t even start to retell his story because it’s incredibly complex, involves things that as an outsider I don’t understand and the outcome is still unknown. That present me with a problem I mulled over at lunch and during the short drive back to my hotel. After watching the interview as it was transferred from tape to my computer I realized that I had to use all of the interview. All 35 minutes of minutes. It’s a thought that might make some news field producers and documentarians look for tall buildings to jump off of. I can’t do it any other way. To leave out any part of it would be to ignore an important part of the jigsaw puzzle he’s living in. It would alter the context of what he’s going through. It wouldn’t be his story any more. It would be the story that I wanted to tell about him, and it wouldn’t be the truth, the whole truth.He also tells it very, very well.
So I’m going to violate every rule of video production and run all of it. From his answer to my first question to when a dog that adopted him after Katrina that he named “Pirate” jumped up on the bench next to him and the interview ended, you will hear everything that he said to me. I will cut video away to b-roll periodically to show some of the things he talks about but his audio will be complete and uncut. Since I asked questions off-mic, I’ll use full screen graphics for them.
The good news is that Kenny DiNero is very articulate and tells his story well. He sounds good too. I spent the afternoon and early evening adding graphics and b-roll to his story and I don’t think that if you care about what’s happening in the Gulf, you won’t be bored. But if you are, remember that I didn’t come down here to remake Caddyshack.
Coming up…
Dispersant, friend or foe.
UPDATE: Corrected the date when Kenny submitted his claim. The original article said that months had passed since he submitted his claim. In fact, he submitted it at the beginning of July. Also corrected his gross revenue number for the day described, which my weevil filled brain remembered incorrectly.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Oil leak stopped, mood's up a little
It’s been a squally weekend. Mostly cloudy punctuated by some pretty enthusiastic storm cells. One had enough gumption to take down the power for a spell. Outlook for the rest of the day is for more of the same. I don’t know if it was because it’s Sunday morning, the weather, or both but there was nobody out. Nobody save two joggers and a cyclist on a beach path. The village center was eerily empty. I saw one guy walking with an electric guitar in his hand and offered him a ride so his instrument wouldn’t get wet, but he was only one house away from his home. Oh well. The upcoming week looks for more sunshine.
Tourism up a tick
National and local news reports that hotel reservations are up following the apparently successful testing of the spewing well’s cap. MSNBC reports that some of the recreational fishing bans have been lifted in Louisiana state waters except for oiled and boomed areas, whatever that means. Alabama and effected Florida state waters are open for catch and release. It’s all still closed in Mississippi. The National Marine Fisheries Service bulletin issued on July 13th states that all fishing, including catch and release is prohibited in the closure area which covers 35% of the Gulf. Their web site said that there were no changes to the closure on July 17th. I suspect that they’re referring to waters outside the states’ three mile limits, but I’m not certain.
The government also estimates that about half of Louisiana’s oysters are dead. Not because of oil contamination but because of increased fresh water flowing from the mouth of the Mississippi river designed to keep the oil away from the delta. (Never heard anything about that tactic before now.) Could we have turned the corner on the spill? I think it’s more like the turn has started but we haven’t really gotten pointed in the right direction yet. There are too many different things, good and bad, that can happen before anyone knows for sure.
A Whale appears to be Moby Dick
After all of the hullaballoo over the gigantic A Whale crude Hoover’s arrival for real world testing in the Gulf, it apparently has come up wanting. According to Fox News, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Zunkunft called the amount of oil collected by the behemoth, “negligible”.
I don’t have any pictures of the ship, but in the ones I have seen, the collection openings appeared to be above the waterline. How was that going to collect anything? There was also the issue of how high or low those openings were going to be as the ships tanks filled up with the oily water. I mean, the more weight that’s put in a ship or boat, the lower it’s going to sit in the water. Now there could have been a ballast system that would pump out clean sea water from holding tanks as oil was collected, but that was never explained, at least not in anything I’ve read.
Optimism
I guess it’s a good sign when Billy Nungesser, the very vocal president of Plaquemines Parish appears hopeful. According to Associated Press, Nungesser said, “It’s somewhat a sense of relief knowing, hopefully, that every bit of oil we pick up from here on out will be a little less that’s going to be out there, as opposed to picking up less than was being spilled and losing ground on a daily basis. It’s a great feeling.”
I was down on the beach this morning between rain squalls and walked up to a parked SUV with two US Fish and Wildlife folks inside to tell them that their headlamps were still on. They thanked me then one of them handed me a laminated card with a dozen phone numbers and almost half that many web addresses on it. He asked me to call one of the numbers if I saw any oiled wildlife or anything they should know about. I told them that I’d been in the region for about ten days and that I hadn’t seen anything dead or oiled anywhere I’d been and suggested that things might be getting better. He agreed that it was. He said that there are ongoing problems still on the offshore islands and that with the wind clocking around from the south, there might be some stuff heading for the coast. I’ll be watching over the next few days.
Next time…
Who’s really helping in this fight.
Tourism up a tick
National and local news reports that hotel reservations are up following the apparently successful testing of the spewing well’s cap. MSNBC reports that some of the recreational fishing bans have been lifted in Louisiana state waters except for oiled and boomed areas, whatever that means. Alabama and effected Florida state waters are open for catch and release. It’s all still closed in Mississippi. The National Marine Fisheries Service bulletin issued on July 13th states that all fishing, including catch and release is prohibited in the closure area which covers 35% of the Gulf. Their web site said that there were no changes to the closure on July 17th. I suspect that they’re referring to waters outside the states’ three mile limits, but I’m not certain.
The government also estimates that about half of Louisiana’s oysters are dead. Not because of oil contamination but because of increased fresh water flowing from the mouth of the Mississippi river designed to keep the oil away from the delta. (Never heard anything about that tactic before now.) Could we have turned the corner on the spill? I think it’s more like the turn has started but we haven’t really gotten pointed in the right direction yet. There are too many different things, good and bad, that can happen before anyone knows for sure.
A Whale appears to be Moby Dick
After all of the hullaballoo over the gigantic A Whale crude Hoover’s arrival for real world testing in the Gulf, it apparently has come up wanting. According to Fox News, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Zunkunft called the amount of oil collected by the behemoth, “negligible”.
I don’t have any pictures of the ship, but in the ones I have seen, the collection openings appeared to be above the waterline. How was that going to collect anything? There was also the issue of how high or low those openings were going to be as the ships tanks filled up with the oily water. I mean, the more weight that’s put in a ship or boat, the lower it’s going to sit in the water. Now there could have been a ballast system that would pump out clean sea water from holding tanks as oil was collected, but that was never explained, at least not in anything I’ve read.
Optimism
I guess it’s a good sign when Billy Nungesser, the very vocal president of Plaquemines Parish appears hopeful. According to Associated Press, Nungesser said, “It’s somewhat a sense of relief knowing, hopefully, that every bit of oil we pick up from here on out will be a little less that’s going to be out there, as opposed to picking up less than was being spilled and losing ground on a daily basis. It’s a great feeling.”
I was down on the beach this morning between rain squalls and walked up to a parked SUV with two US Fish and Wildlife folks inside to tell them that their headlamps were still on. They thanked me then one of them handed me a laminated card with a dozen phone numbers and almost half that many web addresses on it. He asked me to call one of the numbers if I saw any oiled wildlife or anything they should know about. I told them that I’d been in the region for about ten days and that I hadn’t seen anything dead or oiled anywhere I’d been and suggested that things might be getting better. He agreed that it was. He said that there are ongoing problems still on the offshore islands and that with the wind clocking around from the south, there might be some stuff heading for the coast. I’ll be watching over the next few days.
Next time…
Who’s really helping in this fight.