Three of every four oil and gas lobbyists worked for federal government. With 600 lobbists who have very close relationships to DC, proposals to enact new restrictions or curb oil use have stalled amid concerted Republican opposition and strong objections from Democrats in oil-producing states.
"Religion, at its worst, can be used to eliminate human agency and responsibility. Texas Governor Rick Perry invoked a morally deficient appeal to religious language last month when he called the Gulf oil spill “an act of G-d.” While we can debate G-d’s presence in the world, we need not debate the issue of human responsibility and culpability.
"A primary charge of the Jewish social justice tradition is the demand that we learn both how to limit our damage and how to hold ourselves and others who cause damage accountable."
All is not well in the Gulf Coast, to put it mildly.
Solutions to coping with the effects of the disastrous oil spill seem all but sidelined as the nation watches effort after effort to staunch the flow of spewing oil fail. We can only hope that the latest attempt -- the containment cap -- will work.
Meanwhile, the workers from coastal communities who made their living in Gulf waters face increasing uncertainty -- over what will happen to their livelihoods, their futures, their families -- and building frustration. America Magazine tells the story of one such man:
[Chris] Nelhig, a fisherman for 36 years, wears a tan visor over a long ponytail. His face is glossy with sweat.
“What’s going on down here, [with regard to the oil spill], I don’t completely understand it yet,” he says. “I can’t get the truth from nobody. Don’t know how long it’s going to last.” His eyes shine, but show his worry. The environmental and economic effects of the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling site off the Gulf Coast more than a month ago are obvious, but what many don’t see are the emotional effects on the fishermen and their families.
Already, local and national charities have sprung into action. And the Jewish community -- and Jewish Funds for Justice are not exception. [Follow the link to read more about JFSJ and other Jewish efforts to help individuals in the affected coastal communities.]
At least he's got a good well paying job, not an easy thing to come by in this economy, and especially not if you are a fisherman in Baratria who's been completely shafted by Deep Horizon, like those at Bayou Keepers, co-led by Tracy Kuhns, one of the Gulf Coast Fellows for Community Transformation.
