Latest news: April 18, 2012

The Big Spill, Two Years Later
Editorial, The New York Times. April 17, 2012.
“Friday is the second anniversary of the explosion at BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and spilled upwards of five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico…” (Read more)

Transportation bill would direct BP fine funds to La.
By Jordan Blum, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). April 18, 2012.
“WASHINGTON — The U.S. House could pass its 90-day transportation extension bill Wednesday.

The legislation now includes the RESTORE Act that directs BP fine money to Louisiana and the other affected Gulf Coast states…” (Read more)

Bryant questions BP ‘spin’; announces restoration projects
By Harlan Kirgan, The Mississippi Press. April 18, 2012.
“GULFPORT, Mississippi — Gov. Phil Bryant announced Tuesday that $13.6 million in restoration projects from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are about to begin and he took the opportunity to counter BP’s assertion that beach cleanup is 98 percent completed…” (Read more)

Research Group Offers Plan To Rebuild Mississippi Delta With Floodwater Diversions
By Housley Carr, Engineering News-Record. April 17, 2012.
“Building a series of new sediment-diversion structures the lower Mississippi River delta that would be opened during floods to “pulse” large volumes of sediment into eroding parts of southern Louisiana would be an excellent and worthwhile use of limited federal dollars, a group of engineers and coastal scientists said in a report issued in mid-April…” (Read more)

Gulf seafood deformities alarm scientists
By Dahr Jamail, Al Jazeera. April 18, 2012.
“New Orleans, LA – “The fishermen have never seen anything like this,” Dr Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera. “And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20 and 30,000 fish, I’ve never seen anything like this either…” (Read more)

Bless these shrimps: Faith, fishing and Gulf Coast restoration
By Jeffrey Buchanan of Oxfam America for Facing South.
“Faith and fishing: two central parts of Louisiana’s vibrant coastal culture. Every April, going back generations, you can see them intersect in a celebration of bayou life at the annual Blessing of the Fleet in Chauvin, LA. Families welcome the opening of the year’s first shrimp season by coming together to pray for family and friends who depend on the seafood industry, and for a healthy ecosystem that yields a bountiful catch…” (Read more)