I'm flat-out sick about this oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which, as the link explains, is really more of an oil river. I've been birdwatching at every location mentioned in the link and know some of the areas very well, have seen many lifers and favorite birds there. This is the worst thing that's happened to southeast Louisiana since Katrina and the federal levee failures, and many of these marshes were only beginning to recover from that. Not to mention the fact that the federal government, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the state have spent five years dicking around with endless studies and unreliable technology. This won't impact New Orleans immediately (though people all over the city report smelling the oil, I was outside almost all day and didn't smell it; maybe it's my allergies), but I'm very worried about the coastal communities, the wildlife, and the effect on Gulf seafood. People on other oil rigs in the Gulf have reported seeing dead dolphins, fish, and turtles in the water.

Sadly, I've already seen my first "Why do those people live there?" comment about this disaster, citing the National Geographic article that was so full of errors I was surprised such a reputable magazine printed it. Do we really have to go over this again? The technology to protect our coastline exists. It has already been implemented in the Netherlands. If we matter enough, it could be implemented here. If not, the rest of the country will eventually lose huge amounts of seafood, oil processing, cheap goods that come in through the Port of New Orleans, and much, much more. It's partly your choice.

Save Our Wetlands

Levees.org