Coastal Restoration « Gentilly Girl- a part of the 99%

June 14, 2010

Burn The Wetlands?

Filed under: Coastal Restoration — Morwen Madrigal @ 2:43 pm

It’s a sick thought, but maybe a way to regenerate our oil-soaked wetlands.

First the BP spill must be quelled, Second, the birds must head back North as is their wont. Third, we need to get through the hurricane season.

Then we burn the oil-affected wetlands and start building up the land and seed the plants for the coming year. It will cost mucho bucks, but Hell, BP has said they would cover the bills.

We will also need to save as much sealife that we can right now. This will be the rebuilding of a major ecosystem. It won’t be an easy task… it will take 3 or 4 years to come to fruition.

Here on the Coast we will have to suffer through that time, but if all works right, the environment will be similar to what we had before BP fucked us over. (here in NOLA we KNOW what being fucked-over is about)

And our country must ban deep-sea drilling until the industry can prove that they can deal with mis-haps.

We OWE it to our fellow creatures that are dying because of our mistake. They didn’t create this murder, Humans did. It is our Culture’s mea culpa…

This can be set right if we get our minds straight about what must be done.

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May 11, 2010

I Miss My Boat

Filed under: Coastal Restoration,Gulf Coast,Oil & Gas — Morwen Madrigal @ 2:25 pm

Decades ago I owned a boat. No one knew that because it was one of my secret places to just be. (I had other activities that was about me, but I never told a soul about them either). My boat was of wood, and she was 16 foot long. I hid Her in the swamps. She was my safe place.

Some days I would get down to Her and cast off into the Gulf. I’d anchor and just have my lunch, read my books and be rocked to sleep by her gentle movements with the waves. The birds landing on Her made Life very interesting. One day I had 3 pelicans sitting on the side… They liked my French bread and left before they swamped me. And I fell asleep with the rocking of the boat.

I’d fish and then let them go. I just wanted to be a part of the ecosystem. I needed to feel as a part of the Whole that folks down here lived with. Me and my boat rocking on the waves.

I can’t do that anymore. I wish to have a 16 foot schooner to sail again, but how can I sail the lake and the Gulf knowing what BP did? Will I be able to smell the waters? Can I sleep rocking on oil-infested waters?

Can I rest knowing what has happened? Will the birds come to my little boat and see me as an ally or the enemy?

We have known since the 70′s of the dangers that our current culture presented. Many of us warned about the possibilities. We have told you what must be done.

You didn’t listen, and I can’t sleep in my little boat anymore.

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I’m Crying Tears of Oil

Filed under: Coastal Restoration,Corporate Capitilism,Environment,Gulf Coast,Oil & Gas,Wetlands — Morwen Madrigal @ 12:33 pm

I’m watching the projections of the BP oil spill’s reach and I’m seeing visages of times along the Coast. I see my extended families standing on their 40 ft boats happy with their harvest of the Gulf’s bounty. I see me and my Grand Dad catching crabs from the pier. I feel the nets as I pull them in from the boat. I feel the weight of the oyster tongs.

I feel the rod jerking as I hooked another King Mackeral. I feel the slickness of mud between my toes as I harvested mudbugs. I smell the air and remember.

I remember the night fishing when we held gigs and torches wading through the waters. You had to see the seabed and decide if it was a soft-shell crab or a flounder. I see my Grand Dad’s face as I handed him a bag of soft-shells. I was also afraid of sea snakes.

I’m afraid that I will not see those moments again in my lifetime.

My little World, our World, has been sacrificed for the oil greed of Amerika. 20,000 miles of canals dug through our wetlands and a no questions asked drilling policy. We stand naked before the storms that will come, and our greatest gift to the Nation is being poisoned. And it was all for oil.

I have had a minimal carbon footprint for decades. I have preached for many years about the ways of this culture. I have done my best and now the oil that many of you so depend upon is technically at my door.

My World is dying.

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August 31, 2009

Protecting Coastal Communities

Filed under: Coastal Restoration,Gulf Coast,Levees,Louisiana,New Orleans,Rebuilding,Wetlands — Morwen Madrigal @ 3:37 pm

This is how the Dutch do it. America can do it too if only it wanted to.

WATCH

h/t- Levees.org

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June 18, 2008

Oh Poop!

Filed under: Coastal Restoration,Fools,Louisiana,New Orleans,Oil & Gas,Politicians,Storms — Morwen Madrigal @ 1:28 pm

Sen. Mary Landrieu just backed the Bushite’s coastal drilling plan.

Yes it means $$$ for the state, but remember that it was the works of the oil companies that destroyed our wetlands and our protections from the storms.

It’s an interesting trade-off.

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November 6, 2007

Bush Veto on WRDA Overidden in the House Of Representatives

Filed under: Coastal Restoration,Corps of Engineers,Gulf Coast,Levees,Louisiana,New Orleans — Tags: Coastal Restoration, Corps of Engineers, Federal Flood, Gulf Coast, Levees, Louisiana, New Orleans — Morwen Madrigal @ 8:45 pm

” A veto last week by President George W. Bush of a popular water projects bill was overridden by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, moving Congress closer to enacting legislation that would authorize $23 billion for nearly 900 projects across the United States.”

Full Article.

Now it’s up to the Senate tomorrow to do the same.

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August 9, 2007

A Petition…

Filed under: Coastal Restoration,Corps of Engineers,Federal Flood,Katrina,Levees,Louisiana,New Orleans,Oil & Gas,Politicians,Rebuilding,Reparations — Morwen Madrigal @ 4:24 pm

Care2 has a petition running for the Prezzie candidates concerning New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

If you are reading my Blog, I expect you to sign it.

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July 21, 2007

This Time the Idiot Comes From Nebraska…

Filed under: Carpetbaggers,Coastal Restoration,Corps of Engineers,Federal Flood,Fools,Katrina,Levees,New Orleans,Oil & Gas,Racism,Rebuilding,Reparations,Sinn Fein,Update — Tags: Carpetbaggers, Coastal Restoration, Corps of Engineers, Federal Flood, Fools, Katrina, Levees, New Orleans, oil-and-gas, Racism, Rebuilding, Reparations, Sinn Fein, Update — Morwen Madrigal @ 4:19 am

Well, two weeks of not having to hammer the Moronic Inferno of “don’t spend MY tax money on New Orleans” has helped since Betts and I have been way too busy getting the final details on getting the house and cottages running. I would like to state that my mind, my four-letter vocabulary and my soul has NOT rested during this period however.

From the bustling hot-spot of mental giants (?) called Fremont, NE comes this little gem from the Sports Section of the Fremont Tribune. (No, one can’t leave comments there, but go figure… how many up that way could make an intelligent response (or want to) for this kind of tripe?

As it is past 5 AM and as the witchy Night Owl my existence has bequeathed , I must repair to my bed in order to escape the deadly rays of the Sun. I’ll “get on my diatribe” later in the day.

Check out this view of the area, and though they may be 1,023 feet above sea-level, the dump is still on the flood-plain, and therefore the river is right at their feet. Flat-landers = “Flat-liners”.) You know I’m going to whack them very hard… the Corps and the Bureau of Reclamation had much to do with river control up that way so it may be informative for the folks of the Mid-Lands to have an understanding about what they may have to face in time.

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