Louisiana has always danced with the devil

[SoCalDem]

In its earliest times, it cavorted with pirates & ne'er-do-wells who attracted a lot of chaos to the area. It has been a refuge of scoundrels and has reveled in the attention they sometimes brought to the region.

It has a long-held reputation for rolling-with-the- punches, and bouncing back.

They welcomed the "energy-people" with open arms because of the money they thought would come their way, even if it never really panned out the way they had hoped.

Can any long-time Louisianan really say that the destruction of the wetlands/the repeated injuries to the fishing industries (via long-term pollution) has been "worth it" financially.

Even before this latest calamity, we have read about how oil leases were not properly negotiated, and how time after time, Louisiana has been hoodwinked by the oil/gas companies.

In exchange for the jobs and the lease/transportation/refining money they DO get, they have also suffered from debacle after debacle relating to their environment.

From what I have read, the corps of engineers has been playing around there for decades, and yet have seemed to make matters worse, not better (MrGo being a prime example..and of course the insufficient levees).

As a relatively poor state (in spite of the important industries they harbor), they have been "led" by people who have not had their best interests at heart, and now they are about to pay the ultimate price...

There are just some things that do not peacefully coexist, no matter how many cheerily happy commercials the energy people put on tv.

Toxic stuff sucked from the earth and from undersea, then burned/refined, with the fumes deposited into the air, and sludge dumped into the water and onto the earth, is not conducive to a healthy environment, no matter how much money is offered.

A marsh is not as "attractive" as a long span of pristine white sand beach, but it is every bit as valuable (maybe more so) if a place plans to have a fishing industry, or to have eco-tourism...or even modest protection from vicious storms that have always battered that coastal region.

Greedy (and possibly uninformed) politicians have sold Louisiana down the river forever, and this is the culmination...and it won't stop with just Louisiana, because water MOVES...and diseased habitat leads to diseased (or dead) flora and fauna.

As a state in the union, Louisiana has a right to conduct its own business, but for decades the overriding non-regulatory fervor of the federal government has aided in the potential destruction.

We saw what a lack of care and preparation did in August 2005, and we are seeing it again .

Non-regulation of an industry that produces a toxic commodity, IS a regulation against the people who must live alongside it, in its path, or with its aftermath.

Dangerous mining practices in some areas of Montana & Idaho led to deadly health consequences..

We all know about the mining/miner issues in Appalachia

We learned about Love Canal

There are "toxic sites" all over America, exploited for big bucks by corporations for decades, and then abandoned for the locals to "deal with" (ultimately the taxpayers to deal with, since clean ups are too costly for locals).

NON regulation ,the republican/libertarian goal, is the problem. It always has been and always will be. As long as politicians must go , hat in hand, asking these fat-cats for campaign money, they will continue their raping & pillaging.

There are devils everywhere, and dances galore, and many hard-pressed states, just waiting for their turn to dance, but the devil always gets his due, and the dancers just get the goo..

[WeDidIt]

1. Bravo

Outstanding post.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

2. Another kick and rec, big time.

the poisons of greed, anger and stupidity.

I hope this catastrophe wakes up an unprecedented groundswell of people.

[Karenina]

3. Losing Louisiana... BEFORE the gushing stab wound. (Dec. 09)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQcPOQXc9vE