Andy Levin/Greenpeace

I spent three hours in a seaplane yesterday flying from Belle Chasse, Louisiana to the site of yet another burning oil rig in the Gulf, this one 70 miles south of Vermillion Bay. Although I saw little oil on the way out, at the site of the fire there were the tell-tale rivers of orange oil that I had seen when flying over the Gulf photographing the Deepwater Horizon spill. Is anyone monitoring the damage that these rigs are doing to the environment? Is there a reason why explosions seem to be happening more frequently, or is it just that the news media is paying a little closer attention nowadays? Flying back in the Southern Seaplanes craft, with videographer Carlos, who was also working for Greenpeace, we passed at 3,000 feet over the highway from Cocodrie, and went over the someone of the wetlands that are said to be disappearing, but are actually already gone,
There is very little of the wetlands south of Lafitte, and certainly past the Ile de Jean Charles. Whatever appears on Google maps and one sees while driving along the bayous down to Golden Meadows, is mostly an illusion, as the view from 3,000 feet makes clear. The wetlands are not disappearing, they are already gone, done in by the canals carved out by the oil industry, that apparently can’t keep its rigs from blowing up. Although fortunately no one was killed this time, and as of now there is no leak, the fact is that there rigs are catastrophes waiting to happen just off the coast of the United States. Although sometimes I think that many forget that Louisiana is actually part of the Lower 48.

Sitting in New Orleans, knowing that thousands of barrrels of oil each day are being released into the Gulf of Mexico, has left me frightened at the consequences of the the BP disaster and frustrated at my inability to document it. In 1994 I bought myself a ticket and flew to Puerto Rico to cover the effects of a tanker accident that sent over a 750,000 gallons of heating oil onto the shore near old San Juan. Is it possibly that the wetlands of Louisiana and the pristine beaches of Alabama and Florida may suffer a similar fate this month? I hope not, but fear for the future.

I started photographing the beach culture of the world in 1986. I grew up near the Atlantic Ocean, and the shoreland, water, and marshlands have been engrained in my consciousness since childhood. Just as the wetlands are disappearing here in my new home, the marshland on Long Island is disappearing too. An although there is no oil drilling off the Hamptons, or even the Rockaways, it is possible that the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico could not only soil the beaches of Florida, but ride the Gulf Stream up to New York as well.

Needless to say, our world is becoming smaller and smaller. It is also becoming more and more uninhabitable. As Carlos Cazalis said on Facebook, “the horror.” The horror indeed. How can one not be sadden by the images of oil stained birds struggling in the water at the site of the Challenger spill? How many birds will be poisoned? How much of fishery, shrimping grounds, and oyster beds will we lose to the carelessness of industrialists eager to satiate and profit from our need for fossil fuels? Comment

A scene From the “Real Life Struggles of a Professional Photographer”……the details have been changed to protect the not so innocent.

Phone rings……ring, ring, ring, ring.
A concerned journalist reaches for his iphone. Its a hidden number “1111111……
He thinks, “Assignment from Time Magazine.”
Answers the call quickly, with hope.
Photographer: Helllooo.
PE: Hey, BiIl, its —— from ——–, in — ——. I have a really interesting assignment you might be interested in.

Photograoher: Great

PE: Its for Friday, are you busy? Its a terrific opportunity

Photographer: Let me think a moment. I am not booked. What have you got?

PE: Its for the business section. A woman is selling tar balls from the oil spill from her home– its the only business of its kind. She is going to show you around her house, you will have all access. We want a profile on her.

Photographer: Great, sounds amazing. I can do it.

PE: Super. By the way, how far is Lafayette from you? It looks midway between New Orleans and Memphis.

Photographer: Fantastic. Let me Google that. Hold on.

(Photographer Googles the address quickly)

Photographer: Looks like 4 hours.

PE: Fantastic, glad you can do this– you are the perfect person. OK, you have to be there at 8:00am to meet the writer. We want a general sense of the place, what the woman’s house is like, where she works, and after her kids come home maybe some shots around the neighborhood. Its a quick turnaround so we need high rez files Friday night.

Photographer: Great, no problem.

PE: Super.

Photographer: But to be there are 8:00am I would have to leave my house at 3:30am–I think I need to leave the night before. Its 8 hours of driving anyway, without the shooting.

PE: Well, I really wanted to try to keep this to one day for the usual $300. fee if possible, along with our co-ownership of the copyright of anything you take.

Photographer: I TOTALLY understand. Not sure I can do that. Maybe you should maybe try someone from ——– its a bit closer.

PE: OK, thanks, let me see if I can find another photographer. But I will definitely get back to you one way or the other. Keep Monday open for me!

Photographer: No problem. will do. Thanks for the thinking of me.

(Hangs up. Photographer falls back into his chair. Puts his hands to his head. Rent is due in two weeks. He still hasn’t paid for the two Canon 5D Mark II and the L lens. or his yearly Photoshelter bill.)

Of course, the PE never calls back.

These paragraphs are quotes from EPA and CDC information pages on Corexit, the dispersant that BP is using in the Gulf Oil spill.

COREXIT EC9527A contains between 30-60% of 2-butoxyethanol (solvent) and COREXIT 9500 contains between 10-30% of petroleum distillates (solvent).

The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to 2-Butoxy Ethanol:

Contact can irritate the skin and eyes with possible eye damage.
Inhaling 2-Butoxy Ethanol can irritate the nose and throat causing coughing and wheezing.
2-Butoxy Ethanol can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Exposure can cause headache, dizziness, confusion, lightheadedness, and passing out.
Chronic Health Effects
The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at
some time after exposure to 2-Butoxy Ethanol and can last
for months or years:

CANCER HAZARD
2-Butoxy Ethanol may be a CARCINOGEN in humans since it has been shown to cause liver cancer in animals.
Many scientists believe there is no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen.

Reproductive Hazard

2-Butoxy Ethanol may damage the developing fetus.

There is limited evidence that 2-Butoxy Ethanol may damage the male reproductive system (including decreasing
the sperm count) in animals and may affect female fertility in animals.

Other Effects

2-Butoxy Ethanol may damage the liver and kidneys.

Medical Testing

For frequent or potentially high exposure (half the TLV or greater), the following are recommended before beginning work and at regular times after that:

Liver and kidney function tests
Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for damage already done are not a substitute for controlling
exposure.

Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right to this information under the OSHA Access to Employee

Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 1910.1020).
Mixed Exposures
More than light alcohol consumption can cause liver damage. Drinking alcohol may increase the liver damage
caused by 2-Butoxy Ethanol.

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