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From the Shores of Louisiana -- Call in the navy!
Cat Island, Louisiana -- During the past eleven weeks I've been on and around the edges of Barataria Bay for many days. This is ground-zero for the oil mess clean-up in southern Louisiana, a 650-square-mile jigsaw puzzle of marshes and wetlands where hundreds of workers have been sweating for weeks, valiantly attempting to wipe, absorb and suck up the oil which has penetrated it deeply.
If you haven't been there in person, it's hard to describe just how convoluted the place is. Imagine it this way, using that puzzle analogy: Think of a 1,500-piece jigsaw puzzle spread out on a table. Now randomly take half those pieces away, the pieces that remain resemble the bay.
It is a jagged, unformed piece of shallow water and low-lying land with no straight lines and thousands of corners, inlets, shallows and loosely connecting waterways. Today, oil has seeped into nearly every corner. Policing it – trying to stop it from entering, with booms – proved impossible. Skimming oil off the surface has worked to a degree, but even the dozens of fishing boats armed with skimmers can only make a dent. Cleaning it up once the oil has invaded the edges of the marshes is, well, a nightmare. Imagine trying to scrub individual pieces of sea grass by hand or vacuum out bubbly brown crude that has penetrated several feet into the wetlands.
During a recent weekend on the bay I was able to see the efforts being coordinated by a variety of local and non-local contractors, who have each hired workers, some from the area, some from other states. While there appears to be lots of activity on the bay – boats zooming here and there, floating villages set up as way stations – there seems to be little authority or control.
Many of the oil-soaked booms ringing, or partly ringing, wetland islands need to be changed but instead have been ignored and pushed onshore by currents and tides. The giant barge communes that have been floated in the heart of the bay to serve as central drop-offs for oil vacuumed up – some of it by shop-vacs purchased at nearby box stores, others by sophisticated pumping systems – are often surrounded by small boats filled with men who seem to be constantly on break.
Gallery: From the Shores of Louisiana: Cleanup Efforts
Every boat that heads out to help in the clean-up, many filled with fishermen whose livelihood is now and perhaps forever on hold, get a safety briefing from the Coast Guard, which is nominally in charge here.
But from sea level, judging by the work going on, the incredible amount of work still to be done, and a fair amount of workers adrift who clearly need some direction, one thing is clear: No one is really in charge of this clean-up.
While there are lots of workers toiling hard under the hot sun, there are also more than a few who are out there to collect a day's pay with as little sweat as possible. On a political level, it's clearly hard for some of the local elected officials to crack down when they see such abuse; many of these are their voters, after all, and they need jobs.
In retrospect, it makes me wish one thing President Obama had done just weeks into the gusher, was to call out the Navy and the Marines (whatever is left of them in this country, given their other current obligations).
This ongoing mess seems a perfect setting for an orderly, disciplined, ceaseless, military attack rather than a chaotic, independent, freelance approach. Granted, some of those jobs for needy locals would be diminished. But my gut says the oil would be better contained.
But from sea level, judging by the work going on, the incredible amount of work still to be done, and a fair amount of workers adrift who clearly need some direction, one thing is clear: No one is really in charge of this clean-up.
While there are lots of workers toiling hard under the hot sun, there are also more than a few who are out there to collect a day's pay with as little sweat as possible. On a political level, it's clearly hard for some of the local elected officials to crack down when they see such abuse; many of these are their voters, after all, and they need jobs.
In retrospect, it makes me wish one thing President Obama had done just weeks into the gusher, was to call out the Navy and the Marines (whatever is left of them in this country, given their other current obligations).
This ongoing mess seems a perfect setting for an orderly, disciplined, ceaseless, military attack rather than a chaotic, independent, freelance approach. Granted, some of those jobs for needy locals would be diminished. But my gut says the oil would be better contained.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Learning, North America, United States, Ecotourism, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Charley Jul 29th 2010 11:37AM
Any operation is going to have lots of people standing around: just look at road crews. One guy does the work while 4 other stand around and watch. Some aspects of the job don't need muscle all the time, but when it does, you need it immediately to progress. It is the nature of physical labor and outdoor work - something that those who have desk jobs (ahem, writers) tend to overlook.
Also, have you been to the gulf lately? The oil spill is much smaller than just 3 weeks ago. Beaches are cleaner, and there is talk of disbanding some cleanup crews for lack of work - although for political reasons that may not fly just yet.
pam Jul 30th 2010 11:30AM
It's tempting to say "the government should have..." or "Obama should have..." but the government isn't in the business of cleaning up oil spills. It was, at one time, in the business of regulation and oversight, something that failed miserably in this case. I certainly agree that a swift, military like action was (is?) necessary, what I don't know is if it would have been possible. I keep looking further up the food chain and the more I roll it over in my brain, the more I think we're complicit -- we being car driving oil craving consumers. And that breaks my heart.
I'd say I'm enjoying this series, but that's not quite the right language. I find it painful and heartbreaking to read, but also, necessary. Thanks you.