BP, this isn't over

From Socialist Worker: http://socialistworker.org/2010/11/08/bp-this-isnt-over

Louisiana residents are speaking out about the horrible effects of the chemicals the BP used after its Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf.

Dahr Jamail

November 8, 2010

BATON ROUGE, La.--Gulf coast fishers, conservationists, seafood distributors and oil workers rallied here at Louisiana's capital on October 30 to demand that oil giant BP be held accountable for the "ongoing" use of toxic dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico.

"We don't have the open sores and blisters caused by BP's toxic dispersants that the people in Plaquemine's Parish have," Karen Hopkins from Grand Isle, La., told IPS. "We are being poisoned by BP's same dispersants, but our symptoms are more lethargy and depression symptoms caused by chemical poisoning."

Hopkins, who works for Dean Blanchard Seafood, a large and well-known seafood distributor, was a member of the October 30 Rally for Gulf Change, whose organizers said they were working toward "preserving our God-given rights to clean air and water for future generations."

Drew Landry, who describes himself as "a songwriter who works for a commercial craw-fisherman," said that he first grew concerned about BP's mishandling of the oil disaster, which began on April 20 when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, by what he saw the oil giant do the following day.

Continue reading at:  http://socialistworker.org/2010/11/08/bp-this-isnt-over

I never thought I would say what I am about to say, but Exxon showed far more corporate responsibility regarding the Exxon Valdez oil spill than BP has shown the last few months.

We need to dog BP the way we dogged Exxon and not forget it all now that the well is capped and the story is no longer in the headlines.