From the article:

 The State of Mississippi’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) opened all of its territorial waters to fishing on August 6. This was done in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Food and Drug Administration, despite concerns from commercial fishermen in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida about the presence of oil and toxic dispersants from the BP oil disaster.

On August 19, Truthout accompanied two commercial fishermen from Mississippi on a trip into the Mississippi Sound in order to test for the presence of submerged oil. Laboratory test results from samples taken on that trip show extremely high concentrations of oil in the Mississippi Sound.

James “Catfish” Miller and Mark Stewart, both lifelong fishermen, have refused to trawl for shrimp because they believe the Mississippi Sound contains submerged oil. 

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Friday, August 6, 2010Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org“Life as we know it cannot survive business as usual”: Greens blast Democrats and Republicans for rejecting even a compromised climate change bill and for continuing to support offshore drilling, mountaintop removal, and reliance on fossil fuelsGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on global warminghttp://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-ecological.phpGreen Party Eco-Action Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/ecoaction/index.phpWASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders and candidates called for national defense against global warming, with a demand that Congress cut military spending drastically and transfer the money to efforts to stem the impending climate change catastrophe.”We need a new kind of national defense — defense against catastrophic climate change,” said Alfred Molison, Green Party candidate for City Council (District C) in Houston, Texas, the center of the American oil industry (http://www.votealfred.com). “The White House and Congress keep increasing military funding, for defense contractors and for the unending, unwinnable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan-Pakistan. What we need to do is shift that money to investment in renewable noncarbon-based energy technology, creation of millions of green jobs, public transportation to replace car traffic, retrofitting of buildings, and other measures to reduce greenhouse emissions. If we don’t cut these emissions drastically right now, the resulting damage and breakdown of security will be far worse than anything a terrorist can inflict on America.”"Life as we know it cannot survive business as usual. Defeating global climate change requires more than a set of policy recommendations or schemes like ‘cap and trade’ emissions trading,” added Gloria Mattera, Green candidate for LieutenantGovernor of New York State (http://www.gpnys.org).Green leaders pointed to key developments in recent months:The US Senate’s failure to pass the Climate Change bill in July, even after numerous concessions to corporate polluters: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would not try to bring a compromise bill to the Senate floor.”Democrats and Republicans cannot be trusted to take the minimal necessary steps to curb global warming,” said Laura Wells, Green Party Candidate for Governor of California (http://www.LauraWells.org). “America’s only hope for concrete action is a new kind of politics, in which candidates who reject corporate influence replace Democrats and Republicans in office. The media continue to portray politics as a permanent contest between the two established parties. But people are tired of seeing so little difference between them, since both Democrats and Republicans kowtow to the same corporate interests. The Green Party represents a real difference, and can advance real solutions, because it doesn’t take corporate donations.”Reports of record-breaking temperatures and freak weather occurrences around the globe (”2000-2009 Marked Warmest Decade on Record,” Democracy Now!, July 29, http://bit.ly/curQmv), along with the news that 97 percent of scientists recognize that climate change is real and is caused by human activity (”Report: 97 percent of scientists say man-made climate change is real,” Science Fair, June 22, http://bit.ly/c8vUrG).Evidence that corporate energy lobbies are calling the shots on major US policies: (1) Continued revelations, in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, that government regulatory agencies are under the influence of corporations that they are required by law to oversee; (2) Bipartisan support for continued offshore drilling, mountaintop removal mining, hydraulic fracturing (’fracking’), ‘clean coal’, nuclear plants, and other dangerous, destructive energy sources, while rejecting serious, committed, and immediate plans to expand and diversify our energy portfolio as well as implement high speed, low-cost public transportation and carbon taxes; (3) President Obama’s plan to keep 50,000 US troops in Iraq, and delayed withdrawal of combat troops elsewhere, to protect multi-national interests, which means guaranteeing access to oil resources for western energy companies and their bankers.”Despite recent assurances that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been contained, Americans should see the disaster as only the latest warning about the amount of damage that corporate reckless and shortsightedness can cause. The real issue is not so-called energy independence and ending our reliance on foreign oil. We need a line of defense against the long-range threat posed by an addiction to nonrenewable fossil fuel energy in a post-peak era, regardless of where it comes from. Offshore drilling and mountaintop removal mining must be shut down soon, not only because of the immediate danger of continuing disasters but the sheer fact that these polluting forms of energy are not sustainable for America’s primary interests, its families and communities,” said Jesse Johnson, West Virginia Mountain Party candidate in the special election for the late Robert C. Byrd’s US Senate seat.MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENGreen candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtmlGreen Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtmlGreen Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakersGreen Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-electionsGreen Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusGreen Party Eco-Action Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/ecoaction/index.phpGreen Party releases“Obama must cancel his plans for Atlantic & Alaskan offshore drilling, and hold BP and Halliburton liable for the Gulf spill’s damage, say Greens,” May 5, 2010, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=314“Greens call President Obama’s resurrection of nuclear power and handout for Georgia nuclear reactors his ‘worst idea yet,’” February 18, 2010, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=297“Greens, calling the Kerry-Boxer Senate bill on climate change an ‘armful of retreats and compromises,’ seek more immediate international action to curb global warming,” October 7, 2009, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=252“Green Party leaders: US in Copenhagen summit helped kill necessary steps against global warming,” December 22, 2009, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=276“Were Hot as Hell and Were Not Going to Take It Any More: Three Steps to Establish a Politics of Global Warming,” by Bill McKibben, TomDispatch.com, August 4, 2010, http://bit.ly/d8BBC8350.org ‘Global Work Party’ http://www.350.orgVideo clips from the Green Party’s 2010 Annual National Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, June 24-27http://www.gp.org http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusGreen Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United Stateshttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/07/23/bp-hides-use-of-black-prison-labor-for-oil-gusher-cleanup/

When the BP oil gusher mess first began, BP hired prison labor in order to reap tax benefits instead of hiring coastal residents whose livelihoods crashed with the explosion of the wellhead. When the community expressed their outrage, BP did not stop the practice of using prison labor. No, apparently BP simply tried to literally cover-up the use of prison labor by changing the clothing worn by the inmates to give the appearance of a civilian workforce. Big surprise.

Again, the $3 billion BP has spent on the ‘cleanup’ so far is nothing in comparison to BP’s profits last year.

If the government threatens BP’s Delaware corporate charter, then maybe we see some real action. Until then, BP and government will keep diddling around and not getting the gusher stopped.

In the meantime, the disaster grows- Millions Of Migrating Birds Headed Toward Gulf Oil Spill Mess

Two lessons from BP Gulf gusher-

1) get off fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy
2) get corporations out of government- they are corrupting public priorities

..and not citizens…

 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2010/06/helping-veterans-through-farming.htmlThis link is hopeful (excerpt below). Visions of a Green future must
include opportunities for a great peaceful army of otherwise
unemployed, aimless & angry young adults. The human urge to serve a
noble cause often settles for patriotism. Working toward
sustainability, building fertile soil, increasing food security &
protecting air & water in the natural environment among family,
friends & community could become as appealing as fighting to the death
in un-winnable resource wars far from home.

~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~

Wednesday marks the very first Southern California Food and Farming

Veteran Career Fair in Santa Monica. It’s hosted by the Farmer-Veteran

Coalition, a nonprofit that was founded by American farmers to help

veterans — particularly young people who have served in Iraq and

Afghanistan — find work in agriculture.

The group says that more than 250,000 veterans of those two wars are

out of work and that the unemployment rate for veterans between the

ages of 18 to 24 reportedly hovers near 30%. At the same time, these

farmers say that the nation has a critical need for new farmers who

are versed in ecological matters and committed to producing a safe,

healthful food supply.

~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~

The ‘lamestream media’ keeps citing these huge numbers for the amount that BP has supposedly spent on their oil gusher cleanup.What people  need to understand is that this amount is a small portion of the huge profits that BP made just in the past year.It’s pretty clear that BP is still telling the government what do and not vice versa.That’s why’s it’s past time to apply the ‘corporate death penalty’.

Demand the state of Delaware to revoke BP’s corporate charter.

“BP deserves the corporate death penalty,” Green Change co-founder Gary Ruskin told Corporate Crime Reporter last week. “ BP America Inc. does not have a God given right to perpetually violate our laws with near impunity.”

“Look at BP’s record. The Gulf of Mexico catastrophe. Three environmental crimes, one deferred prosecution agreement, and a very long string of big fines and other wrongdoing.”

“There comes a point when enough is enough. Our nation should not have to tolerate any more abuse from this company. No more deaths, no more catastrophes, no more giant pollution disasters.”

“The corporate death penalty will remove BP America Inc. from the field of action. It will stop their carelessness and lawlessness – for sure.”

“If our laws mean anything at all, we’ve got to draw a line in the sand and say that if you violate our laws again and again, you will lose your charter.”

“Deterrence is very important. We’ve got to revoke BP’s charter to deter other companies from acting with such carelessness.”

“If we don’t, then we basically invite other companies to cut corners everywhere, and disregard the law, because the consequences won’t be worth worrying about.”

“We can expect that the threat of charter revocation will make companies act with greater respect for environmental, health and safety laws.”

“Severe wrongdoing deserves severe punishment. When a company does something as awful as the carelessness that lead to the Macondo oil rig blowout and disaster, they deserve the corporate death penalty.”

“This is a simple matter of justice and of the dignity of our society, and really, of all of us.”

On Tuesday night, President Obama addressed the nation in regards to the disaster that continues to pour oil from a damaged BP deep water well into the Gulf of Mexico.  The Green Party urges all its supporters to continue to contribute, volunteer, and support Green Party candidates on the local, state, and federal level as they put pressure on the United States Congress and Obama administration to respond quickly and effectively to the continuing crisis.

Green Party leaders and candidates have been responded to this crisis since the initial explosion on April 20th that killed eleven workers and caused the massive oil leak that has yet to be stopped.

Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, said on April 22nd:

“We are shocked that President Obama has reversed his campaign position and adopted the Republicans’ ”drill, baby, drill” agenda. The President intends to allow the fossil fuel industry to drill in wide ocean expanses that have been off-limits to drilling for two decades. There is no way to guarantee complete safety from spills.

If part of the east coast of the US suffered a spill comparable to the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989, the result would be a catastrophe for public health and valuable natural habitats.”

On April 29th, the Green Party of Florida called on Florida Governor Charlie Crist and President Obama to declare a state of emergency and “take immediate action to mobilize all available resources to protect coastal communities and wildlife habitats”.

The Green Party notes that although President Obama announced a moratorium on new deep-water drilling permits in Tuesday night’s address, deep-water wells currently in operation are continuing to pump oil.

The President announced that he will require BP to establish a relief fund to help cover clean-up expenses.

Howie Hawkins, Green Party candidate for Governor of New York, noted:”It is imperative that the US government seize BP’s assets to insure they are used to pay for damages and clean-up from the oil blowout before BP’s executives and owners cash out and leave the taxpayers holding the bag. It is equally imperative that the trustees of the fund to administer the use of BP’s seized assets represent the people affected and include Gulf Coast representatives of the workers, unions, and small businesses of the fishing, shrimping, crabbing, tourism, and recreation industries, local elected officials, and independent scientists and environmentalists.”

President Obama noted that “For decades, we have talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked - not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor.”

The Green Party hopes that the Obama administration can finally summon the courage to tackle our national addiction to oil.  For decades, the Green Party has worked to introduce concepts like sustainability and ecology into the American political debate.

Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor of Illinois, notes that “a new political force is emerging to help win the struggle for a healthy and sustainable environment: The Green Party.”

All of our candidates and party leaders continue to call for those in power to use our resources to stop this disaster, clean up the oil, and take real steps to make sure that future accidents with destructive fossil fuels never happen again.

    Support the Green Party!Donate today. A Greener future is within our reach. Your donation today can help us bring the vision we share a little closer to reality.

Mainstream media seems to be underreporting the impact of the BP oil spill.From ISS :

Air tests from the Louisiana coast reveal human health threats from the oil disaster

The media coverage of the BP oil disaster to date has focused largely on the threats to wildlife, but the latest evaluation of air monitoring data shows a serious threat to human health from airborne chemicals emitted by the ongoing deepwater gusher.

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Wednesday, May 5, 2010Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on energy policy, climate change, and related issues:http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-energy.phphttp://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-ecological.phpThe Green Party’s 2010 Annual National Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, June 24-27http://greenpartymeeting2010.wordpress.comMedia credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/mediaMore information: 1-866-41-GREEN, office@gp.orgWASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders called on President Obama to cancel his call for offshore drilling in US waters off the Atlantic and Alaskan coasts, as the spreading British Petroleum oil spill threatens ecosystems and public health in the Gulf region. Greens also urged the President to hold BP and Halliburton liable for all costs associated with the spill.On Friday, President Obama signaled that his administration is not reconsidering plans to expand offshore drilling in the wake of the Gulf spill (”Obama won’t back off drilling plans, but pledges safeguards,” McClatchy Newspapers, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/04/30/93216/obama-wont-back-off-drilling-plans.html).”President Obama’s reluctance to set aside his offshore drilling proposal is comparable to the reckless disregard shown by President George W. Bush and other public officials before and after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast,” said Miriam Gennari, Green Party candidate for Arlington County, Virginia, School Board.”No technology can guarantee complete safety from a spill. According to an assessment by Minerals Management Service of the damage to offshore oil and gas infrastructure caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 183 pipelines were damaged and 113 platforms were destroyed, with six spills of 1,000 or more reported (”MMS Updates Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Damage,” May 1, 2006,http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2006/press0501.htm). The 167 million acres of ocean near the Atlantic and Alaskan shores will be vulnerable to the same disaster that the Gulf states are facing right now,” said Ms. Gennari.Greens said that President Obama’s capitulations to energy lobbies, including a plan to construct new nuclear power plants (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=297) and his support for “clean coal” while refusing to seek a halt to mountaintop removal mining, have surpassed those of President Bush, a former oil executive and enthusiastic ally of such industries.The Green Party supports much stricter federal regulation of fossil fuel extraction and nuclear power, to protect workers, communities, and ecosystems, and an end to public subsidies for fossil fuel and nuclear industries. Greens have warned about the consequences of economic and environmental policies promoted by these industries to guarantee their own profits at public expense. Many Greens favor a moratorium on offshore drilling operations until tighter regulations and adequate insurance (not just BP’s self-insurance policy) are in place.”President Obama wants to establish a bipartisan alliance with ‘drill, baby, drill’ Republicans to boost oil industry profits while trying to end US dependence on foreign oil sources. But the problem isn’t just foreign oil. It’s all fossil fuels, which have proven disastrous in the short term, with the BP spill threatening the Gulf coast, and in the long term as we face global climate change. Democratic Party leaders deserves sharp criticism for their refusal to renew annual bans on offshore drilling beginning in 2008,” said Audrey Clement, co-chair of the Green Party of Virginia (http://www.vagreenparty.org) and co-chair of the national party’s EcoAction Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/ecoaction/index.php).Greens insisted that BP and Halliburton, the oilfield-services company that handled the rig’s cementing process, be held financially liable for the effects of the spill.”No amount of money can possibly compensate for the lives lost and the damages caused by this disaster, which will be felt for years to come,” said Michael Canney, spokesperson for the Green Party of Florida (http://www.floridagreens.org) and green energy advocate. “Taxpayers and Gulf Coast residents must not be left holding the bag for cleanup costs and damages. BP and Halliburton must be held accountable, even if it means impounding their assets to ensure these bills get paid.”On Thursday, April 29, the Green Party of Florida asked President Obama and Florida Governor Charlie Crist to declare a state of emergency as dead birds and chemical odors were reported along the state’s Gulf coast, and in anticipation of greater damage to beaches and other coastal areas (http://bit.ly/c3hM7k).MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENGreen candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtmlGreen Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtmlGreen Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakersGreen Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-electionsGreen Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus“Two fossil-fuel dangers threaten America’s economic health, public health and natural habitats: coal and offshore drilling for oil, say Greens on Earth Day 2010″Green Party press release, April 22, 2010http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=311“More on the Oil Gush…”By Anita Steward, OpEdNews.com, May 3, 2010http://www.opednews.com/articles/More-on-the-Oil-Gush–by-Anita-Stewart-100502-286.html?show=votesThe Green Party’s 2010 Annual National Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, June 24-27http://greenpartymeeting2010.wordpress.comMedia credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/mediaMore information: 1-866-41-GREEN, office@gp.orgGreen Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United StatesWinter 2010 issue now onlinehttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~