As a resident of the Gret Stet of Louisiana, I’ve been appalled by the way so many local media outlets have been acting as cheerleaders for Governor PBJ, the Parish Presidents and the oil industry.Today, Picayune outdoors editor Bob Marshall throws a well placed rock at Bobby’s beloved rock jetties:
At a press conference supporting his wish to narrow Gulf passes with
rock jetties in an attempt to keep oil out of interior marshes, Gov.
Bobby Jindal said this: “No one can convince us that rocks in the water
are more dangerous than oil. That is absolutely ridiculous. The only
people who believe that are the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., who
can’t see the oil, smell the oil or touch the oil.”
That’s not even close to the truth, as Gov. Jindal surely knew. But I’m
not surprised.
That misinformation is in keeping with the governor’s response to this
disaster, which has often been a mixture of diversion, fur coat attitude
and panic — all of which is doing terrible long-term damage to our
chances of survival on this starving delta.Let’s start with that claim about the rocks.
The governor knows full well that since the day the rock idea was
broached by Jefferson Parish politicians, the foremost authorities on
Louisiana’s coastal ecosystem have come out against it. These are not
Washington bureaucrats. They are men and women who have long lived and
worked in coastal Louisiana; many of them are natives. They have spent
their lives becoming expert on how the system functions, why it has been
crumbling and what must be done to save what is left.
Of course, Marshall’s piece was published under the rubric of “other opinions” since it doesn’t toe the Picayune line but I’m pleased that the paper ran the piece at all. It’s a relief after months of Jindalista propaganda that they actually allowed someone to throw some stones at PBJ’s misguided and idiotic plans. Louisiana has some of the top coastal scientists in the world and they’re united in denouncing the rock jetties as likely to make things worse.
I’m well aware that the GOP isn’t known for listening to scientists: it’s the flat earth and creationism party, after all. As for Governor PBJ, he’s too busy holding press conferences to listen to anyone other than the wingnuts and sycophants who keep whispering in his ear: “This can make you President.” It’s unclear how this is playing outside the spill zone but some people actually believe in science. Imagine that.
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Rock jetties. To keep oil out of interior marshes. The governor was first a biologist and then a creationist so he may not know about the concepts of porosity and permeability. Let’s just say the sand berms are a better idea in this context.
Agree Maitri,
And coming from the East Coast, we have a century of experience with putting up rock jetties, groins, etc. and the way they alter the erosion. Considering that the erosion of the coastal barrier was a major factor in Katrina vs. NOLA, this doesn’t sound good. And I’m not talking as some ivory tower academic. I’m talking the experience of the local folk.