Gulf Coast Industries Reel from Ongoing Oil Crisis

The Gulf's Next Disaster

by Dominique Browning 

 

 

Brown Pelicans, covered in oil from BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, huddle together in a cage at the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Buras, Louisiana. (Lee Celano / Reuters)

 

The BP spill won’t be the last disaster pinned on offshore drilling. Dominique Browning says the area’s underwater pipelines are decaying rapidly—and could demolish the wetlands.

The BP Gulf oil gusher has shown the whole world the nightmarish risks of deep-sea drilling. But there is another, older story of environmental destruction in the Mississippi River Delta wetlands—and it, too, is related to offshore drilling. This tragedy will continue long after BP’s well is shut down. And to make matters worse, there’s another kind of terrible accident just waiting to happen.

The first offshore well was drilled in 14 feet of water off the coast of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, in 1937. In the decades that followed, a dense infrastructure was thrown up to support a booming offshore oil business—which was rapidly moving into ever-greater depths. Some 30,000 to 40,000 miles of underwater pipeline were laid and navigational canals were cut through the wetlands for shipping. Oil-industry maps show an astonishingly dense and complex thicket. Most of the pipelines and canals that service the roughly 4,000 active wells in the Gulf were built long before environmental laws were passed and agencies were created to protect the wetlands.

The infrastructure laid down to support the offshore drilling industry has severely compromised the resilience of the Delta ecosystem.

Just as we have collapsing bridges in our highway system, so, too, we have a decaying infrastructure underwater. It is aging, and as the marsh erodes it uncovers pipelines never built to be exposed to water, let alone saltwater. Environmental Defense Fund Senior Director Paul Harrison describes an open meeting with the federal Council on Environmental Quality, where “an oil industry person got up and said he worries about the vulnerability of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port pipeline.”

• Clive Irving: Why Is BP’s Former Boss a U.K. Hero?The LOOP carries about $1 billion worth of material every day. The cost of plugging canals, building diversions, and bringing river water into the wetlands, is small change by comparison—but the survival of the wetlands depends on it. Only the power of the Mississippi River can build land and keep up with sea level rise. That is why we need mega-scale restoration of this landscape. We cannot afford to let this work become an environmentalist’s pipe dream.

The Geophysical Research Letters will soon publish a paper indicating that 31,000 miles of pipelines along the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico are extremely vulnerable to hurricane-induced currents. Previewed in Science Daily, it describes how, during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, sensors placed on the ocean floor, hundreds of feet deep, showed that underwater currents put considerable stress on the oil infrastructure. More than 1,000 reports of damage to pipelines in the Gulf have been made in the past two decades; more hurricane-resistant design of this infrastructure is needed before another crisis erupts. Predictions are for a strong hurricane season this year.

Meanwhile, the vast oil infrastructure has already cost Louisiana dearly. Since the early 1900s, Louisiana has lost 2,300 square miles of wetlands to the sea, an area roughly the size of Delaware. Those thousands of miles of pipeline and canals—that infrastructure laid down to support the offshore drilling industry—have severely compromised the resilience of the Delta ecosystem.

The Mississippi River has been separated from the wetlands by the levees and jetties that were built to keep shipping channels open. Fresh river water, carrying its rich load of sediment, no longer reaches and replenishes the Delta. The straight, wide industrial canals have disrupted the hydrology—the water flow—of the wetlands. Normally, bayous are full of small, winding channels that keep saltwater from running inland. The manmade canals, in contrast, serve as conduits for seawater, which kills the freshwater marsh vegetation that holds the land together, leaving it to wash away with the tides.

And the last, and largest, problem for the Mississippi River Delta wetlands is global warming. In low-lying places like Louisiana, you have to consider relative sea level rise. Because the land is subsiding at the same time that the ocean is rising, Louisiana faces the most severe consequences of climate change.

The BP disaster will have severe economic consequences for everyone whose livelihood depends on those oil-soaked Gulf waters. But the far greater disaster is the one that has been years in the making. The next Gulf tragedy is waiting to happen.

The items below are previews describing action of currents on sea floor during hurricane.

Geophysical Research Letters: Bottom scour observed under Hurricane Ivan.

Geophysical Research Letters: Observed currents over the outer continental shelf during Hurricane Ivan.

Dominique Browning's new book is Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, & Found Happiness, published by Atlas & Co. She was the editor in chief of House & Garden and written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, O, Wired, Body + Soul, and On Topic. She writes a monthly columnabout environmental issues for the Environmental Defense Fund and blogs atSlowLoveLife.com

Get a head start with the Morning Scoop email. It's your Cheat Sheet with must reads from across the Web. Get it.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

>via: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-11/gulf-of-mexicos-next-tragedy-offshore-drilling-also-to-blame/full/

AMAZING GRACE MOVIE TRAILER

AMAZING GRACE EXCERPT

AMAZING GRACE @ LUTHER VANDROSS FUNERAL

AMAZING GRACE - 2005 GOSPEL FEST (audio)

"CONQUERORS"

"MELODIES FROM HEAVEN"

"WHY WE SING"

"STOMP"

Room Magazine's Annual Fiction, Poetry, and

Creative Non-fiction Contest – 2010

It's that time of year again—sharpen your pencils or fire up your laptop and send us your fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction contest entries.

Deadline: Entries must be postmarked no later than July 15, 2010.
Entry Fee: $27 per entry (includes a complimentary one-year subscription to Room). Payment by cheque or money order made out to Room.
Non-Canadian entries: $39 Canadian dollars
Prizes: 1st prize in each category – $500, 2nd prize – $250. Winners will be published in a 2011 issue of Room. Other manuscripts may be published.

Judges:
Fiction: June Hutton
Poetry: Jennica Harper
Creative Non-Fiction: Lynn Van Luven

Rules & Details:
Send entries to:
Room Contest 2010
P.O. Box 46160, Station D
Vancouver, BC  V6J 5G5
Canada

More than one entry will be accepted as long as fee is paid for each entry. No manuscripts will be returned. Only winners will be notified.

Poetry: max. 3 poems or 150 lines | Fiction: max. 3,500 words

There will be blind judging, therefore, do not put your name or address on entry submission, but enclose a cover sheet with your name, address, phone number and title(s) of entry. Entries must be typed on 8.5 X 11 white paper. Prose must be double-spaced. Each entry must be original, unpublished, not submitted or accepted elsewhere for publication and not entered simultaneously in any other contest or competition.

Download the PDF here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring 2010 Writing Contest

Spring blossoms. You can smell it in the air. The sparrows and swallows are soon to return. The mountains fade from their long winter white into newly born greens; snow and ice melt begin a long quest to stream and river, and finally the sea. The clouds will burst with water and lightning, and seeds and flowers mimic the skies. Once again, we are looking for uplifting spiritual, seasonal, personal, inspirational, touching, motivational, or just plain heart-warming stories, poems, and essays up to 2,500 words that celebrate the Spring Season, including any upcoming holidays ... First Prize is a $35.00 (US) gift credit to our online store. Second Prize is a $25.00 (US) gift credit to our online store. Third Prize is a $15.00 (US) gift credit to our online store. In no particular order, the following considerations are taken into account for all contest entries: writing and writing style, individuality, holiday and/ or spring themes, and spiritual/ inspirational/ motivational themes, and apropriateness for the whisperingtree.net website. Please submit your work through our Online Form. We will publish thematically appropriate submitted work to our Community Stories area on whisperingtree.net. We retain the right to reject any submitted work deemed not to be appropriate for whisperingtree.net, or deemed not to be appropriate for our audience; all judging is done by the whisperingtree.net staff, is anonymous, and all prize decisions are final.   If you have any problems, please contact us at customerservice@whisperingtree.net.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   So that we have time to review all submissions and prepare for the next season, the contest ends June 15, 2010.

 

IR's 2010 '1/2 K' Prize Guidelines
$1000 Honorarium and Publication

 

Final Judge: Alberto Ríos

Alberto Álvaro Ríos, born in 1952 in Nogales, Arizona, is the author of ten books and chapbooks of poetry, three collections of short stories, and a memoir.  His books of poems include, most recently, The Dangerous Shirt, preceded by The Theater of Night, winner of the 2007 PEN/Beyond Margins Award, along with The Smallest Muscle in the Human Body, a finalist for the National Book Award, Teodoro Luna’s Two Kisses, The Lime Orchard Woman, The Warrington Poems, Five Indiscretions, and Whispering to Fool the Wind.  His three collections of short stories are, most recently, The Curtain of Trees, along with Pig Cookies, and The Iguana Killer. 

His memoir about growing up on the Mexico-Arizona border—called Capirotada—won the Latino Literary Hall of Fame Award and, most recently, was designated as the One Book Arizona choice for 2009.

   Ríos is a Regents’ Professor at Arizona State University, where he has taught for over 27 years and where he holds the further distinction of the Katharine C. Turner Endowed Chair in English.

 

Contest Rules

POSTMARK DEADLINE: June 15. 2010
Reading Fee:$15 for US entries, $27 for international entries, $22 for Canadian contestants.
Includes a year’s subscription.

All entries considered for publication.
All entries considered anonymously.
Send no more than 3 pieces, 500 words maximum per piece. (That's 3 short-shorts or prose-poems max per entry fee.)

• Each piece must be either a prose-poem or short-short. Prose-poems should not have any deliberate line breaks (ie no lineated poems). You may send a combination of short-shorts and prose poem pieces, as long as you have no more than 3 pieces per submission.
• No previously published works, or works forthcoming elsewhere.
• Simultaneous submissions acceptable, but fee is non-refundable.Further, IR cannot consider work from anyone currently or recently affiliated with Indiana University. In addition, IR cannot consider work from anyone who is a current or former student of the prize judge. We also will not consider work from anyone who is a personal friend of the judge.
• Entry entitles entrant to one-year subscription, an extension of a current subscription, or a gift subscription. Please indicate your choice and include complete address information for subscriptions.
• Entrant's name should NOT appear on the prose poems/short shorts.

If submitting electronically:

Please click here. For payment instructions, please click here. Electronic submissions will close on June 15st, 2010 at 8 pm EST.

If submitting by post:

• Please click here for our official entry form
• Entries must be accompanied by SASE for notification.
  Manuscripts will not be returned.
• We prefer you to pay online. Payment instructions are available here. With your entry, include a print out of the receipt that is e-mailed to you as confirmation of payment.
• If you are unable to pay online please contact us.

Send entries to:
'1/2 K' Prize Indiana Review
Ballantine Hall 465
1020 E. Kirkwood Ave.
Bloomington, IN
47405-7103

Please note that, while we attempt to contact entrants whose submissions are not in accord with our guidelines, this is a courtesy. It is ultimately and solely the responsibility of entrants to ensure they have followed the guidelines.

 

Click here for 2009 1/2K prize results.

Long-shelf-life spice

05-28-10

Smart Spice

These small servings of spice are individually wrapped to preserve freshness. Each packet is about a teaspoonful. They are fantastic for spices you may use only occasionally, say nutmeg, cardamon, cumin, etc. Even a tightly capped bottle of spice will loose potency compared to these sealed envelopes with an extended shelf live of many years. While this method does increase litter compared to bulk spices, the actual volume of extra packing you would use in a year is negligible -- maybe equivalent to large plastic bag. In exchange for this and a higher price per ounce, you get organic spice with remarkable freshness, always at the ready. Because of their intense flavor we've started using them for some spices we use regularly. (I am surprised the creators don't offer a single box "spice rack" with a sample of each spice.) The tiny packets are also great for camping.

-- KK  

Smart Spice
$3 for one box of 4 packets

Available from Alice

Manufactured by Smart Spice

Kitchen Cosmetics:

A Recession Proof Hair Conditioner

June 5, 2010 by Ekere

A few months back I ran out of one of my favorite hair products. It was a delicious smelling, expensive, deep conditioner that left me scented of coconut long after the last bits of shampoo were washed from my hair. But I could not go to the store to grab more of that fabulous stuff as both time and money were short. ‘What can I do?’ I wondered. Because really–something needed to be done to pamper my dry, thick and tangled mane.

When I was a kid I used to spend hours perusing the books in my mother’s collection. One of the books that fascinated me was one published in 1971 called Organic Make-Up by Mary Gjerde. This book was my intro to kitchen cosmetics. I used to grab the honey and the oatmeal and make facial masks according to Gjerde’s instructions. I remember loving the idea that we could use stuff in the kitchen to make ourselves look good.

I think that spirit never quite left me because on that day all those months back when I could not buy something for my hair, I got the notion that I would go in my cabinets and make something instead. Now, as I headed to the kitchen part of me was going ‘This is crazy’ and another part was going ‘No, it’s not. This is what our grandmothers and their mothers did.’

So I got ta thinkin,’ what were the ingredients most likely doing all the work in that product anyway?’ Two things stood out: eggs and coconut oil.

Coconut oil is one of my favorite things to have around the house. I have one jar of it to cook with and another jar that is strictly for my skin and hair. Not only does the oil smell fantastic but it is a wonderful conditioner, my hair and skin glow under the spell of the coconut. So using it for a conditioner was a no-brainer.

Since eggs are protein rich I figured they would  feed my hair. As I reached into the fridge for them, I Suddenly remembered my Aunt Izola doing my hair when I was a child. (I had so much hair and I was tender-headed to boot). I remembered sitting between my Aunt’s knees as she parted my hair and put mayonaise in it before she washed it. What is the main ingredient in mayonaise? Eggs. I knew I was on to something because my Aunt is indeed a wise woman and at 96 she still has a full head of hair. After doing some reserach I found that folks have long used eggs to strengthen their hair, make it more manageable and give it some sheen.

So I grabbed one egg, scooped some fresh aloe gel from a leaf and added coconut oil to this. I blended it up and left the mixture on my hair for about 20 minutes. Wow! My hair was soft, easy to detangle and ready to be washed. I would have kept this little discovery to myself if it weren’t for Bianca. Bianca is a fabulous poet and painter who asked me about natural hair care recently. Since Bianca is exploring the vegan path, she took the egg out of the recipe and substituted banana. I loved the idea of using banana because quite frankly egg, coconut oil and aloe don’t smell so good. So this is the updated hair conditioner recipe thanks to Bianca:

Recession Proof Hair Conditioner

• Two eggs
• Gel from a large aloe leaf (you decide how much to use depending on how much hair you have)
• 1/2 Ripe banana
• Coconut oil

Mix this up in the blender, put it on your hair. Either use a shower cap to cover it or just let it marinate. Wash this out after 20 minutes or so. Enjoy!

What is your favorite kitchen cosmetic?

Panel discussion on writer Albert Murray

Date:	Thursday, June 17, 2010
Time:	7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:	Jazz at Lincoln Center
Street:	33 West 60th St., 5th floor
City/Town:	New York, NY
	View Map

Description

Jazz at Lincoln Center is hosting a symposium on Albert Murray and the recently published book, Albert Murray and the Aesthetic Imagination of a Nation. This is the first book of scholarly and personal essays on the work of a writer instrumental in the founding of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The panel discussion, which is free and open to the public, will be held Thursday, June 17, 2010, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m, in The Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Studio at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The panel includes Barbara A. Baker, Auburn University; Paul Devlin, SUNY Stony Brook; Eugene Holley, Jr., jazz writer, Roberta S. Maguire, University of Wisconsin; Sidney Offit, New School for Social Research; Greg Thomas, jazz educator, print and broadcast journalist, and host of 20 episodes of Jazz It Up!; Lauren Walsh, New York University; and more.

Copies of the book, edited by Barbara A. Baker and with a preface by Anne-Katrin Gramberg, will be available for purchase at the event from Strand Book Store.

This collection consists of essays on various aspects of Murray’s work, written by prominent scholars of African American literature, jazz, and Albert Murray, reminiscences from Murray’s friends and associates, and interviews with Murray himself. It illustrates Murray’s place as a central figure in African American arts and letters and as an American cultural pioneer.

Born in Nokomis, Alabama in 1916, and raised in Mobile, Albert Murray graduated from Tuskegee Institute (now University) in 1939. He later taught there and at many other colleges. He retired as a Major from the U.S. Air Force in 1962 and moved to New York City, where he resides with his wife Mozelle. He is the author of many critically acclaimed books, including the The Omni-Americans: Some Alternatives to the Folklore of White Supremacy and the Fakelore of Black Pathology (essay collection, 1970), South to a Very Old Place (memoir, 1971), The Hero and the Blues (comparative critical essay, 1973), Train Whistle Guitar (highly acclaimed novel, 1974), Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie as told to Albert Murray (1986), and Trading Twelves: The Selected Letters of Albert Murray and Ralph Ellison (2000), among others. Murray is also the author of the hugely influential Stomping the Blues (1976), a history and aesthetics of jazz. Murray has served on the board of Jazz @ Lincoln Center for many years.

Black Girl Lost: Why Many Young Girls Become Prostitutes

by Kimberly Burgess Posted Jun 8th 2010 2:00PM

When ex-NFL great Lawrence Taylor was arrested for allegedly raping a minor, youth sex trafficking hit the national spotlight. In a trend that spans across America, young women, most of whom seem to be lured in to the sex trade with promises of money, shelter and sometimes love, are finding themselves as prostitutes in a ring organized by their "protectors."

Haley Volpintesta, a Chicago-based human rights advocate with 10 years of experience working with youth impacted by the sex trade, nationally and internationally, and the juvenile and criminal justice systems says that while many young women are coerced into prostitution, many others engage in survival sex, trading sex for basic needs like food and shelter, even in the Unites States of America. "They may see their involvement in the sex trade as temporary, until they can figure out how to get their needs met in other ways," she says.

So basic tools of survival lead some girls to trade sex for money?

Some young people find themselves in situations where they are relying on very limited choices because their very basic needs aren't met. Coming from an abusive home, not having a safe place to live, not having food or even feeling pressured to meet a certain standard with clothes may lead them to the sex trade. This industry is motivated by poverty and capitalism. Around the country and internationally, not having what one needs to live often make this, for some people, a realistic thing to do.

How are girls recruited into the sex trade?

One girl I worked with had been dating a man for more than a year. When he asked her to move to New York it was on the premise that he would help her go to college and they would build a life together. She was completely unaware that he was a pimp. In situations where young people are runaways, pimps often act as a caring adult who can rescue them from the unsafe streets, only to find out that they are expected to pay for that 'care' and 'protection' through sex work. Through building rapport with the young person and convincing her that the sex trade is a "good choice" or necessary to uphold their relationship, girls are lured into the life. Some have reported drugs being used to keep them compliant.

Who are the girls? Are they runaways, juvenile delinquents, or promiscuous teens?

Many of the women were involved with an intimate partner who was involved in sex work. We think about pimps in a very particular way but in many instances these pimps are their boyfriends. This prostitution is another manifestation of domestic violence.

Who is more at risk for being a child prostitute?

Missing or runaway youth are definitely at a greater risk for recruitment and entry. Exploitation of young women through sex affects populations that are disproportionately targeted by oppression. In certain ways these populations become vulnerable to institutions like the sex trade.

Who are the pimps? Some of the pimps are peers of these young women. Has the identity of who a pimp is changed?

We get so caught up in this imaginary of who a pimp is and what a pimp does and what he looks like and we forget that sometimes we are talking about a young man who has experienced some of the same things that make girls vulnerable to trade sex for money. They are coming from violent homes. They are coming from homes where they have seen this before; where they have seen women degraded before. They have experienced violence and have limited resources and they figure out how to hustle. Selling women for a while came with far less consequences than selling drugs did. And now that law enforcement is taking a different position on this issue and who is to blame, you are seeing the issue of pimping under a different kind of lens.

Is race relevant in the discussion of the youth sex trade?

Young women involved in the sex trade cross race and class barriers. No one is out of the running. It is just as much an option for a white girl in a small rural town as it is for a wealthy girl living in the big city. We can't ignore race, class or nationality when talking about the sex trade, but it is a real possibility for all girls.

Are these young women looking for a way out?

For young people whose entry and participation is pimp controlled, which was the case for most of the young women and girls I met and worked with, their sexual exploitation by someone with whom they may identify as a boyfriend or caretaker complicates their ability to stop or leave. The exploitation within their relationships was another manifestation of violence, and their exit needed to be strategized like any situation of domestic violence. Pimps may react with violence or threats of violence based on their expectation that something is owed to them. Additionally, some young people feel connected to their exploiter in different ways, and they may need to leave a number of times while processing their experiences in the sex trade and building new relationships and a support system before they are really ready and feel confident in their plan. Sometimes the embarrassment and humiliation that can accompany their recruitment into the sex trade forecloses the possibility of reaching out to family or other people with whom they previously trusted. One young woman who I worked with after an arrest received an alternative to incarceration and came to GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services) for services and support. During that time, she was able to talk about what was happening and think through her options. After reaching out to an aunt, she was able to come up with a plan to leave. Her aunt helped her tell her mother and she was able to move forward with her family's support.

How do you help a loved one leave the sex trade?

Listening without judging is absolutely necessary. Refrain from calling someone a prostitute or whore. Do not violate the person's confidence and trust by sharing what they tell you. Talk through other options if they are interested. Look into social service providers who may be able to offer support. If you are an authority figure to the young person, do not respond with a consequence, this will violate trust and push the young person away. It is ultimately better to know the truth and offer assistance when requested than making the person feel bad for what is not their fault. It is very possible that the young person imagines a different life for herself. Being supportive, understanding, and nonjudgmental as possible will make you a trusted resource.

For a judgment-free space for teens to dialogue about the sex trade check out:

www.youarepriceless.org

http://www.enddemandillinois.org/about_end_demand_il.html

 

Haley Volpintesta received her BA in Gender Studies from Knox College and her MA in Human Rights from Columbia University. Her thesis entitled, Safe Harbor or State Violence?, explores the limits and effects of the mobilization of human rights discourse in US anti-trafficking policies and the subsequent production and erasure of particular youth subjects. Haley has 10 years of experience as an advocate for youth impacted by the sex trade and the juvenile and criminal justice systems. She has worked with various organizations in the US including, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) in Harlem, New York, and the Young Women's Empowerment Project (YWEP) in Chicago, IL. She has also worked with youth impacted by the sex trade in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Haley recently returned to Chicago from New York and is transitioning back into life in the windy city with her partner, son, Elijah and daughter, Noah.