Hello everybody, and welcome to the first post for my new blog.
It’s gotten into early summer weather down here around the Gulf. The humidity that felt kinda unique and nice a few weeks ago has settled into its usual “we’ll live with it” cycle, but this summer we have something special to worry about — we have to wonder how our summer weather cycle interacts with tens of millions of gallons of oil right off the coast.
We have to wonder if that petro-hurricane of oil is going to reach certain currents and wash over the Keys and other areas like a toxic tsunami.
We attorneys try to train ourselves to deal with facts, but the maddening fact of this situation in the Gulf is that we just don’t know much. That’s why we need to greatly increase testing, research and stop relying on the good graces of the oil companies to find out what’s happening.
But I’ve written about all that, and all these surprisingly expensive media experts tell me this blog is not about that (but I’ll have links at the bottom), it’s “personal.” I think they hope I’ll vent a bit more here and a bit less, well, elsewhere.
That’s a good thing, because one of the more difficult thing about being on TV and talking to reporters is keeping what our parents would call a “civil tongue.” It’s hard when you know, or at least seriously suspect, somebody is lying about destroying the health of your neighbors and bankrupting them in the bargain, to treat that person in a civil tone.
It would, for example, be inappropriate on national TV to respond with “you ignorant oil-industry whore, you’re going to get us all killed and when we’re in hospice 15 years from now you’ll be retired and living with your latest trophy wife in Aspen.”
While satisfying, that would not advance the conversation.
My experts were right, this feels a little bit better. Now let’s get down to business:
Trusting BP is getting us nowhere. The state is in near revolt and parish-level officials are seizing BP boats that sit idle while oil comes ashore.
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