They Just Don't Mix

Training for a half-marathon and covering an oil spill just don't mix.

I've been training to run a half-marathon on June 5. The last half-marathon I ran, nothing else was on my mind the weeks leading up to the race. Even my photography took a back seat to my running.

Now, the race is a little more than a week away, and running is kind of an afterthought. I'm still getting my runs in, but mentally, I'm just not ready to run a half-marathon. Hopefully that will change once I get my bib number and wake up the morning of the race.

However, the running has really helped me escape from all this oil. Even just a quick run gets my mind off work and into that "zone." Then I can get back to work.

So maybe those two mix better than I thought. Oil and water on the other hand...

Anyway, lets look at some photos. One of the big concerns right now is the lack of protection (boom) for Terrebonne Parish. Especially since oil has been found just a few miles south of Pointe-aux-Chenes. I went out with some local fishermen to see the oil coating the marsh grass. It's scary because the marshes are so important for this area and the oil looks as if it's coming from underwater. You can't see it on the surface, but it's showing up on the marsh grass.

Gilbert, Gayle and Russell make their way along the marsh looking at the oil-covered grass. They took a few samples back to show the other residents the oil that's just a few miles from their homes. Where they are in this photo isn't just some water near their house... it's where they make their living. The catch their shrimp there. They catch their oysters there. Their income is in this water. I can't begin to put my self in their shoes.

The majority of the residents in Pointe-aux-Chenes are native American and have been born and raised there. The live off the water, it's their way of life. So having it invaded by oil could force them to leave. They also have tribal burial grounds they want to protect. The grounds have already been invaded by salt water killing the trees, but oil just doesn't seem fair.

Today, 24,000 feet of boom arrived in Pointe-aux-Chenes. Much like the fisherman from a few weeks ago, these guys will deploy a fleet of boats to protect their land and water. Why hasn't it been boomed off before now? Good question. According to the the coast guard captain in charge "I guess I'm just slow and dumb." (By the way, he's been replaced. And the new guy says it has nothing to do with the comment.)

So cross your fingers, knock on wood.... whatever... that the oil stays out. Well, doesn't get any closer.

$1 target sunflower

Oil

The past couple weeks have been pretty crazy covering the BP oil spill in the Gulf. And because I haven't posted anything to this blog since late Dec. I figured it was time to get something up here.

The morning after a full day at Jazz Fest in New Orleans, I photographed some officials arriving in Houma to meet and see what was up with the oil.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry, center, talks with U.S. Rep. Joseph Cao, left, and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu Friday, April 30, 2010. (Looks like a little more than "talks with" though)


On Saturday, Shrimp boats from Terrebonne parish were getting ready to head out and help clean up the oil. I was lucky enough to be able to get on board one of the boats (The Mariah Jade) and cover the crew as they helped save their coastline and careers.

Kim Chauvin kisses her sons, Dusty and David before the head out.


Dusty Chauvin steers the Mariah Jade down the Intracoastal as his brother David works out in the wheel house.

Shrimp Boots.

Funny story behind this photo... We got on the boat around 8 a.m. Sunday morning. I didn't know the route we were taking, I just knew we were going to the spill in the Gulf. Four hours into the day, I thought we were making good progress and must be getting close to the Gulf. (I was inside the cabin) John, the reporter, comes in and says "We're passing through downtown Houma if you want to get a photo." WHAT!?!? Four hours in and were in Houma? We went across the coast before going south. Oops.

After two days of travel, and one day of searching, we finally found some oil. It was in the form of red globs that forms when oil dispersant gets in contact with the oil. But not before making a cool sunset picture... and a photo of a crazy glow in the wake of the boat. The guys said it's from a chemical released by jellyfish and that it's usually green. I'd never seen anything like it.


And here's Todd looking over the water as they finally find oil late Tuesday night. They spent all day searching (because they took orders from BP) and finally found a little oil. You'd think they had just caught the biggest shrimp ever they were so excited.


The next day, the cleanup process began. It was messy. They deployed the orange booms to help corral the oil, then put out white oil-absorbent pad things to soak it up.




On Monday, I flew with Sen. David Vitter and Gov. Bobby Jindal to look at what Grand Island is doing to help stop the oil from coming ashore. 30 percent of the nation's oil come through Port Fourchon, so it's pretty darn important to keep this area protected.


I'm sure I'll be covering a lot more with this oil spill in the coming weeks/months... years? But I just wanted to show what I've been doing the past two weeks.