One month after news of a giant Gulf Coast oil spill began making headlines across the country, aid organizations worry that the region may see an influx of workers seeking cleanup jobs that simply don’t exist. “People are being told they can drive here and apply for jobs and BP will pay for travel and […]
Tag: BP
Posted inEnvironment
Boats moored by the BP oil spill, a long-threatened community of black fishers fears for its future
Headed down La. 39 on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish, a few miles down after the Belle Chasse Ferry, drivers pass a tall, white picket fence on the left with a sign that reads “Welcome White Ditch” in a circle around an outline of the state with a pelican inside. A few yards ahead, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Gulf oil spill: Too big to stop- or even watch on a live feed
Hundreds of thousands of people from across the world are logging on to see live video of oil gushing from a broken pipe that is responsible for the gargantuan petrochemical spill in the Gulf of Mexico and increasingly, the coastal wetlands that protect New Orleans. The live video feed, transmitted from 5,000 feet below the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Nungesser says Corps has rejected state’s plea for dredged oil barriers
Nungesser The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not allow land barriers to be built to protect the state’s coastline, Plaquemines Parish Billy Nungesser told The Lens today. “They turned it down,” Nungesser said. “They denied the plan to do the barrier islands, so I don’t know, so we’ll have to come up with something […]
Posted inEnvironment
Effectiveness of BP training may be lost in translation
Creative Commons License photo credit: yummyporky A special oil-spill class set up by BP Tuesday to train Vietnamese fishers in their native language went poorly, with translators giving up just minutes into the four-hour session, and bilingual audience members struggling to fill the gap, one observer said. Those attending got the necessary certification and are […]
Posted inEnvironment
Uneasy living in Lafitte
Chaz Bizani and Tess Bourdreux share their concerns during a tour of the waters around Lafitte. Last week, The Lens traveled to Lafitte in Jefferson Parish to talk with fishers whose livelihoods may be severely hampered, if not suspended by the BP oil spill. On that day, May 4, the oil hadn’t invaded lakes and […]
Posted inEnvironment
With new app, oil spill can cast its shadow over any city
If it’s a bit difficult getting your brain around how large the BP oil spill is, try this application out for size. Using Google Earth and maps from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Paul Rademacher, an engineering manager for Google, has devised a website where you can have the shape of the spill projected […]
Posted inEnvironment
If you're reading this, you already missed BP job training
BP was holding a training session, similar to this one last week in Boothville, in eastern New Orleans Tuesday specifically for Vietnamese fishers. Today, the City of New Orleans announced a special oil spill job training session put on by BP in eastern New Orleans that will be held, well, today. On Friday, BP representative […]
Posted inEnvironment
BP oil cleanup jobs not the stimulus Vietnamese hoped for
An audience member asks a question Friday as the Rev. Vien Nguyen looks on in the background. The Rev. Vien Nguyen, pastor of the Mary Queen of Vietnam church, waited patiently through hours of talk from BP, Coast Guard, state and federal representatives, and questions from his congregation before finally raising his own question: “Of […]
Posted inEnvironment
Oil's effects on wetlands could be dire
As the oil from BP’s Deepwater Horizon accident seeps into Louisiana’s 48,000 acres of wetlands, it’s officially beginning to endanger the habitat and nesting areas of many species of fish, invertebrates and birds. If the problem worsens, it will create insufferable burdens for area fishers and the markets and restaurants they serve. Not to mention, […]