Thursday, September 2, New Orleans, Louisiana--This morning the Gulf of Mexico was again assaulted by yet another oil disaster – an oil disaster rooted in capitalism, and one that shows – once again – that this system is not a fit caretaker of the planet.
Around 9:00 am, near Vermilion Bay, some 100 miles off the coast of southwest Louisiana (about 200 miles west of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig), an oil and natural gas production platform run by Mariner Energy of Houston exploded and caught fire. Thankfully no one was killed, and the 13 from the platform were rescued.
There are conflicting reports about whether another oil slick is now fouling the Gulf: the Coast Guard reported an oil sheen 100 feet wide and a mile long. Mariner denied this, claiming the platform had not been in production at the time of the explosion. (The New York Times reports that Mariner has stated that the platform produced some “9.2 million cubic feet of natural gas a day and 1,400 barrels of oil and condensate” during the last week of August.)
In any case, this latest explosion shows that oil disasters like the BP blow-out are not rare “accidents,” the result of one “bad company,” or random events. They are the product of the capitalist system, and its ruthless, profit-above all compulsion to extract massive quantities of fossil fuels whatever the cost to the environment and the people.
Even before the BP oil blow-out was capped there’s been a drumbeat from industry and government to resume oil drilling – to “drill, baby, drill.” It’s proponents claimed that drilling can be done safely – one company – BP – just happened to have one unusual problem at one well. This latest horror shows that under capitalism these claims are lies – that capitalism’s ruthless chase after profit and control of resources means that spills, accidents, disasters, and blow-outs happen all the time. The platform that blew up today has been “the site of at least four accidents — two of them fires — since 2000, according to federal records,” The New York Times reports. And Mariner operates 195 other platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. And this platform is in 340 feet of water – proving shallow-water oil production isn’t safe under this system either.
No doubt more details will be emerging in coming days about the causes and scope of this disaster. But we don’t have to wait days and weeks to understand that capitalism is not a fit caretaker of the planet (see Revolution’s (www.revcom.us) coverage and analysis of the capitalist roots of the BP oil catastrophe, links below).
As Raymond Lotta has written: “Things don't have to be this way. Under a radically different system, the tremendous wealth and technology that exist could and should be a resource shared by all of humanity and used to meet the needs of people everywhere for decent and fulfilling lives and to safeguard the planet we live on. We encourage readers to get into the articles ‘Communism and Ecology: How Revolution Opens the Way for Humanity to Confront the Environmental Crisis and Become Caretakers of the Planet’ and ‘Some Key Principles of Socialist Sustainable Development,’ which are part of the recent special issue of Revolution newspaper on the environment.”
So join us in building – right now -- a movement for all-the-way emancipatory revolution that includes taking up major social battles such as around the environment—while projecting and popularizing our vision of a whole new world. "The Revolution We Need… the Leadership We Have," is a campaign aimed at making big leaps in this revolutionary movement. Everyone concerned and outraged about the state of the world should check this out and find ways to join in.
Revolution #209, August 15, 2010
"Damage Control" and the Real Damage Done Gulf Oil Disaster Is NOT Over
by Orpheus Reed
Revolution #209, July 26, 2010
The Capitalist Oil Catastrophe Is NOT Over People Must Act to Stop It
by Larry Everest
Revolution #201, May 16, 2010
The Oil Spill Disaster… And a System NOT Fit to Be the Planet's Caretakers
Raymond Lotta
Revolution #199, April 18, 2010
Special Issue on the Environment
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Protest of VP Joe Biden's Visit to the Gulf Coast
On Tuesday, June 29, with less than 24 hours notice, a small but determined group braved the rain and stood in front of the New Orleans Unified Command Center to protest Vice President Joe Biden's visit and his tour of the Gulf. A tour which aimed at spreading the lie that the government is doing all it can to stop this disaster. As the motorcade drove up to the command center, protesters were right out in front with banners: "The People Must Act to Stop the Gulf Oil Catastrophe" and "Gulf Oil Disaster: System Not Fit to Be Caretaker of the Planet."
People from nearby stores came out to see what was going on, and applauded the protest as it marched through, flyering the crowd with the Mission Statement and Demands from the Gulf Emergency Summit. The mainstream media walked quickly past the protesters and into the building, showing little interest in even taking a flyer/press release from the group that had gathered. The protest was called for by the Emergency Committee to Stop the Gulf Oil Disaster (www.stopgulfoildisaster.org).
The action flowed from the Committee's mission of facing the catastrophe in all its enormity, recognizing the stakes for the planet, and acting accordingly by mobilizing a society wide battle -- with all hands on deck to fight on all fronts to stop this catastrophe. Much more of this spirit -- and much more active resistance and organizing independent of the government and BP -- is urgently needed.
The demonstration was mentioned in the Times Picuyne and by UPI:
People from nearby stores came out to see what was going on, and applauded the protest as it marched through, flyering the crowd with the Mission Statement and Demands from the Gulf Emergency Summit. The mainstream media walked quickly past the protesters and into the building, showing little interest in even taking a flyer/press release from the group that had gathered. The protest was called for by the Emergency Committee to Stop the Gulf Oil Disaster (www.stopgulfoildisaster.org).
The action flowed from the Committee's mission of facing the catastrophe in all its enormity, recognizing the stakes for the planet, and acting accordingly by mobilizing a society wide battle -- with all hands on deck to fight on all fronts to stop this catastrophe. Much more of this spirit -- and much more active resistance and organizing independent of the government and BP -- is urgently needed.
The demonstration was mentioned in the Times Picuyne and by UPI:
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
June 23 -- Emergency Committee Disrupts BP-Government Disinformation Meeting Larry Everest
Tonight, in New Orleans, the BP-government informational meeting didn't go as planned, thanks to the actions of members of the newly formed Emergency Committee to Stop the Gulf Oil Disaster and others in attendance who have been speaking out about the oil catastrophe.
Since the beginning of this nightmare, BP, and various government agencies -- including the Coast Guard, the EPA, NOAA, and the Dept. of Energy -- have been holding "open houses," or "informational meetings" across the state of Louisiana and beyond, to try and reassure people that they're doing all they can to stop this catastrophe, that they're on top of the situation, that they really want to hear peoples' concerns and give them all the information and help they need. In reality, those attending hear a stream of double-talk, obfuscation, vague promises, and outright lies. These are very deliberate exercises in disinformation and pacification, with BP and the government working together in an attempt to paralyze people, keep the lid on the situation, and maintain their legitimacy. Initially, people in the audience were able to come up to a mike and make statement or ask questions of the assembled officials.
But after scorching condemnations and persistent and revealing grillings at these meetings (like one I attended in Venice, Louisiana several weeks ago), BP and the government have abandoned this format. Now after a few hollow preliminary statements, people are shuffled off individually to various informational tables -- with no time to interrogate these officials in front of everyone and the media.
So tonight, a group of us from the Emergency Committee challenged this whole setup -- some outside handing out our Mission Statement and Demands (and a few of us selling Revolution as well), and some inside. When New Orleans' Mayor Mitch Landrieu introduced the meeting, Elizabeth Cook shouted out "what about fish kills?!" Landrieu claimed we'd get to that. More
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Emergency Summit Organizers Denounce Obama’s Gulf Speech: “Utter Failure to Stop Gulf Oil Catastrophe” – Call for “Broad Peoples’ Response”
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Organizers of the Gulf Emergency Summit refuted President Obama’s Tuesday night speech:
* “The claim that BP will soon capture 90 percent of the gushing oil is likely yet another in a 55-day string of government and BP deceptions about the magnitude of the blowout and the effectiveness of BP’s ‘fixes.’ Just today the size of the gusher was increased to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day – 60 times what BP and the government initially claimed. Some experts warn that oil could be pouring into the Gulf for months more.”
* “Obama promised to ‘do whatever's necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover,’ but provided no serious plan for doing so. Instead he continued the pattern of refusing to mobilize all society's resources, creativity, and energy, while stifling or preventing scientists, those affected and others from going all-out to help in stopping the spill, its spread, and recovery efforts.”
* “Obama claimed ‘the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental cleanup effort in our nation's history,’ yet he refused to provide any accounting of the damage already been done to Gulf ecosystems and wildlife, and refused to acknowledge the reality that this ‘cleanup effort’ has failed miserably to protect the Gulf, the shores, wetlands, or wildlife.”
* “Obama's promises of ‘clean energy’ and getting off fossil fuels are hollow and do nothing to stop the mounting catastrophe in the Gulf, which is still out of control.”
* "President Barack Obama’s Gulf speech exposed – yet again – the government and BP’s utter failure and unwillingness, despite their rhetoric, to stop the oil catastrophe, protect Gulf ecosystems, wildlife, and people – or even tell the truth," stated Everest. "This underscores the urgency of a broad, determined, and powerful peoples’ response to get the truth out, to protect the shores and oceans and to deal with the ecological impacts."
"The world is watching," Summit organizers write. "We must not allow the Gulf and oceans to be devastated. Our mission is nothing less than stopping this catastrophe."
Contact: Larry Everest 504-644-7214
* "The claim that BP will soon capture 90 percent of the gushing oil is likely yet another in a 59-day string of government and BP deceptions about the magnitude of the blowout and the effectiveness of BP’s "fixes." Just today the size of the gusher was increased to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day – 60 times what BP and the government initially claimed. Some experts warn oil could be pouring into the Gulf for months more." said Emergency Summit organizer Larry Everest.
* “The claim that BP will soon capture 90 percent of the gushing oil is likely yet another in a 55-day string of government and BP deceptions about the magnitude of the blowout and the effectiveness of BP’s ‘fixes.’ Just today the size of the gusher was increased to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day – 60 times what BP and the government initially claimed. Some experts warn that oil could be pouring into the Gulf for months more.”
* “Obama promised to ‘do whatever's necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover,’ but provided no serious plan for doing so. Instead he continued the pattern of refusing to mobilize all society's resources, creativity, and energy, while stifling or preventing scientists, those affected and others from going all-out to help in stopping the spill, its spread, and recovery efforts.”
* “Obama claimed ‘the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental cleanup effort in our nation's history,’ yet he refused to provide any accounting of the damage already been done to Gulf ecosystems and wildlife, and refused to acknowledge the reality that this ‘cleanup effort’ has failed miserably to protect the Gulf, the shores, wetlands, or wildlife.”
* “Obama's promises of ‘clean energy’ and getting off fossil fuels are hollow and do nothing to stop the mounting catastrophe in the Gulf, which is still out of control.”
* "President Barack Obama’s Gulf speech exposed – yet again – the government and BP’s utter failure and unwillingness, despite their rhetoric, to stop the oil catastrophe, protect Gulf ecosystems, wildlife, and people – or even tell the truth," stated Everest. "This underscores the urgency of a broad, determined, and powerful peoples’ response to get the truth out, to protect the shores and oceans and to deal with the ecological impacts."
"The world is watching," Summit organizers write. "We must not allow the Gulf and oceans to be devastated. Our mission is nothing less than stopping this catastrophe."
The Summit is:
Saturday June 19, 2010 10:00 am
First Unitarian Universalist Church
5212 South Claiborne Avenue New Orleans LA
Draft Demands:
1) Stop oil drilling in the Gulf
2) The government and entire oil industry must allocate all necessary resources to stop the spill and clean up the devastation. Full support, including by compensation, must be given to efforts by people to save the Gulf.
3) No punishment to those taking independent initiative; no gag orders on people hired, contracted, or who volunteer.
4) Full mobilization of scientists and engineers. Release scientific and technical data to the public; no more lying and covering up. Full and open scientific evaluation of emergency measures like the use of dispersants. Fund all necessary scientific and medical research.
5) Full compensation for all losing livelihood and income from the disaster.
6) Provide necessary medical services to those suffering health effects of the spill. Protect the health of and provide necessary equipment for everyone involved in clean up operations. Full disclosure of medical and scientific studies about the effects of the oil disaster.
Monday, June 14, 2010
New Orleans Summit to Demand “Stop the Oil Catastrophe”
14 June 2010
Contact: Larry Everest 504-644-7214
Gulfemergencysummit@gmail.com
Gulfemergencysummit@gmail.com
While Barack Obama was visiting Gulfport Mississippi today, Larry Everest and Tracy Stern, organizers for the coming Emergency Summit to Stop the Gulf Oil Catastrophe, demonstrated along his motorcade route, with the message: The People Must Act to Stop the Gulf Oil Catastrophe -- www.gulfemergencysummit.org, and Gulf Oil Disaster -- System Not Fit to Be Caretaker of the Earth.
The call to the Summit states:
"The government and BP have proven unable and unwilling to stop the disaster, protect the Gulf, or even tell the truth....BP and the government – pursuing their own interests - have ignored people's ideas, blocked public participation, suppressed and harassed scientists, and prevented people on the Gulf from taking initiative to keep oil away from shore."
Writer Larry Everest said, “Despite Obama's promises today of re-inventing ‘clean energy’ and such a spill never happening again, he’s not doing what must be done immediately: stop drilling in the Gulf, run an all-out clean-up, mobilize the scientific community, compensate people for loss of their livelihood and damage to the environment, and pay medical expenses of people harmed. Obama is not protecting the environment or the people. Obama is protecting capitalism and the U.S. empire which means there will never be a green economy, but there will be many more environmental catastrophes.”
Summit organizers are calling for "A broad, determined, and powerful peoples’ response" to "get the truth out, to protect the shores and oceans and deal with the ecological impacts, while exploring deeper causes and solutions."
The Summit is:
Saturday, June 19, 2010 10:00 am
First Unitarian Universalist Church
5212 South Claiborne Avenue New Orleans LA
First Unitarian Universalist Church
5212 South Claiborne Avenue New Orleans LA
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