In the midst of one of Mobile Baykeeper’s busiest weeks, full of a multitude of trainings, meetings and speaking engagements, I found myself being consistently called to do more, work harder (but smarter) and make a lasting mark.  Vicki Clark, the brilliant and entertaining trainer at the Junior League of Mobile’s Community Collaborations event, even asked “Is your message exciting people enough to make them want to go to war with you?”

Last Friday night (March 2, 2012) BP and the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee reached an agreement that will settle the dispute between BP and over 100,000 individuals and businesses that have economic and health claims as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster that occurred on April 20^th almost two years ago.  This is a major step forward for individual claims in the case against BP and its associates, Halliburton and Transocean.

What are the terms of the settlement?

Saturday afternoon, January 28, 2012, Mobile Baykeeper received disturbing pictures from an alert member. The pictures below were taken on an area of Fort Morgan peninsula called Navy Cove, and given the following caption by the photographer: “This can't be a natural thing.  It's like tar and asphalt dumped from a road project or something.  Like a place the clean up crews used to pile up the tar and oil they found?”

Immediately following the Deepwater Horizon explosion, crisis response centers were set up all along the coast. Now, nearly two years out and with oil still washing ashore, do you know who to call if you find oil?

It is a new year, a new beginning and another chance for the RESTORE Act to become law.   While there was a tremendous effort to pass the RESTORE Act before the close of 2011, the year ended without its passage and without these much needed restoration dollars sent to the Gulf Coast.   

GCERTF. NRDA. OPA. NOAA. DWH. BP. ER. CWA. RESTORE.

GCERTF. NRDA. OPA. NOAA. DWH. BP. ER. CWA. RESTORE.

Do you recognize the above acronyms? These are some of the names, agencies, and task forces currently involved in the restoration process following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster. 

If this jumble of names seem like an inscrutable alphabet soup to you, you are not alone. From the outside, it all seems like a tangled mess best left to lawyers and politicians.

2012 marks Mobile Baykeeper’s 15th anniversary, and we have spent the end of 2011 planning for the future.  We’ve cleaned off our desks and are gearing up to kick off this new year with a focused effort to see lasting change for our environment, economy and communities.

What’s Happening?

As the song says, “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”. With people beginning to decorate their homes with lights, garland and evergreens, the holiday season is upon us. The holidays can often be crazy and stressful with malls packed and traffic a mess. Through all the chaos, lets not forget the importance of staying green through the holidays. I have found some easy and environmentally friendly tips to add to your holiday traditions.

What’s Happening?