Well I have to apologize for not updating the blog everyday but it simply was not possible. Why you ask? Sometimes no Internet and most of the time we were working 18-20 hour days to get all the incredible stories and film for the documentary. So let's start off in Grand Isle where we made it in 3 days of driving from Santa Barbara! We were in a rush as our leads in Louisiana reported a South wind was blowing oil and tar onto several Grand Isle beaches.
Well no sooner did we arrive when we were instructed by the producer and star Mike deGruy to immediately head for Bay Jimmy about 4 hours from Grand Isle near the bottom of Louisiana. This would prove to be an important trip and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, LDWF, WOULD BE ESCORTING US ALONG WITH EVERY MAJOR NEWS NETWORK out to Bay Jimmy to see the oil and the damage first hand!
Why is Bay Jimmy important? The same reason descending to the bottom of the ocean at over 5000ft in the Alvin...OIL. The oil is on the bottom of the sea and it is also on the shores of many of the barrier islands and mainland in the Gulf states. Dispersant sunk the oil and the oil that made it to the surface has been washing ashore for over 9 months since the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers..
What is the solution here? The oil that attacks the marshes and kills the marsh grass causes further erosion. More erosion means more lost land and also lost habitat for birds and juvenile fish and other plankton. This works it's way right up the food chain to what we eat and consume on the planet. For decades, long before the spill, saltwater intrusion has been the main culprit of land loss in the Gulf! The oil spill simply added to the problem and maybe some good will come out of all this. GOOD OUT OF AN OIL SPILL, HAVE I LOST MY MIND !! No, not yet, the BP spill has received world and more importantly nationwide recognition regarding the effects of the oil spill on the marshes. BP is being held responsible and money is being given out for studies as well as cleanup. Funding is important because it is something our scientists have not had enough of to do their job. To come up with better and more modern solutions to the many problems that face the Gulf region.
How did this all start? What caused the loss of marsh grass and erosion in the first place?
How about man altering the path and trying to contain and control the mighty Misssissippi River !! The river for millions of years flowed unabated, changed course, continued to deposit silt into the basin and all that was changed by man in a mere 100 years!
There is a great deal to be said on the state of the Gulf about the causes and more importantly about future remedies. The documentaries we will be creating from our 2 months in the Gulf will tell those stories both accurately and through stunning visuals!
Here's a shrimp boat from Grand Isle and what a magnificent sight!
Stay tuned for more details to come from Mike deGruy's "Film Crew"-"Deepwater Rising" productions. Mike's website should be online soon and we'll keep you posted!
Well no sooner did we arrive when we were instructed by the producer and star Mike deGruy to immediately head for Bay Jimmy about 4 hours from Grand Isle near the bottom of Louisiana. This would prove to be an important trip and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, LDWF, WOULD BE ESCORTING US ALONG WITH EVERY MAJOR NEWS NETWORK out to Bay Jimmy to see the oil and the damage first hand!
Why is Bay Jimmy important? The same reason descending to the bottom of the ocean at over 5000ft in the Alvin...OIL. The oil is on the bottom of the sea and it is also on the shores of many of the barrier islands and mainland in the Gulf states. Dispersant sunk the oil and the oil that made it to the surface has been washing ashore for over 9 months since the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers..
What is the solution here? The oil that attacks the marshes and kills the marsh grass causes further erosion. More erosion means more lost land and also lost habitat for birds and juvenile fish and other plankton. This works it's way right up the food chain to what we eat and consume on the planet. For decades, long before the spill, saltwater intrusion has been the main culprit of land loss in the Gulf! The oil spill simply added to the problem and maybe some good will come out of all this. GOOD OUT OF AN OIL SPILL, HAVE I LOST MY MIND !! No, not yet, the BP spill has received world and more importantly nationwide recognition regarding the effects of the oil spill on the marshes. BP is being held responsible and money is being given out for studies as well as cleanup. Funding is important because it is something our scientists have not had enough of to do their job. To come up with better and more modern solutions to the many problems that face the Gulf region.
How did this all start? What caused the loss of marsh grass and erosion in the first place?
How about man altering the path and trying to contain and control the mighty Misssissippi River !! The river for millions of years flowed unabated, changed course, continued to deposit silt into the basin and all that was changed by man in a mere 100 years!
There is a great deal to be said on the state of the Gulf about the causes and more importantly about future remedies. The documentaries we will be creating from our 2 months in the Gulf will tell those stories both accurately and through stunning visuals!
Here's a shrimp boat from Grand Isle and what a magnificent sight!
Stay tuned for more details to come from Mike deGruy's "Film Crew"-"Deepwater Rising" productions. Mike's website should be online soon and we'll keep you posted!
