I don’t want them to be like us.”
Witness for the Gulf
“This ain’t working. This isn’t right. This is not a democracy. I don’t even think it’s a Republic. I think it’s an oil dictatorship, you know, run in a way that… well, I think we learned some things from Russia, the old iron curtain. If we only show through the media what we want them to see, then that’s all they’re going to believe. And we proved it right here, right under our nose, with the whole Katrina thing. We saw the difference between reality and the news. And they’re very different. If that’s what the country believes, everything that they’re seeing on the TV, and only certain things are allowed to go through that media, well then the iron curtain is officially up.
“Twice a year I’m traveling the whole country. I talk to more people, real people, than I think anybody in government. I’m not just a musician who plays my show and then takes off after the show. I use it to open the door so that we can talk. There are always discussions after my shows with 10-20 people about what’s going on. The reason is the real people out there are the ones that don’t vote. Look at the numbers of the people who are eligible to vote, and look at the number of people who actually do vote. That’s a huge chunk of people that aren’t voting: the majority of people aren’t voting. Because I think the majority of people know better, they know that the vote doesn’t matter. They’re looking for a way to change that. They’re looking for a way to get involved. They’re like, what do we do? They’re waiting for somebody to tell them what to do. They know that something’s not right.
“I’m trying to tell them that we’ve had too many people assassinated over shit like this. Don’t wait for that leader. Go and find something to do. Dig, go dig. The Internet is a great tool for you to be able to get information right now. It’s the revolution tool. Find a way to help. Find a way to change it. Believe me, they can’t take millions of us out. They can take one out, but they can’t take millions. More or less, I’m trying to encourage people to be a leader themselves and to try to spread the idea that… get some truth behind you about something going on this country, which right here in New Orleans, we have tons of it.”
The Voices of the Artists
“All the artists are going to be the voices. Artists are the communicators. We see everybody, we go everywhere, we talk to people everywhere we go, we find out information, we found out stories, we tell stories ourselves, and I mean that’s where you’re going to get the news from. It’s come to the point right now where the news doesn’t matter; the news doesn’t count. So how are you going to get pertinent information from each other? The artists have a way to spread it. We have a way to spread it nationally, worldwide for that matter, which nobody really has here.
“There’s a difference between wanting to make a lot of money and wanting to make good art. The only reason I got into music is because I knew it was the one talent that I had that I could help others with. It was a bigger more universal way to help. We have a limited amount of time to leave a positive stripe on the planet with whatever talents God gave us and you know it just seems like music kept coming up as a way to help. It keeps showing its ability to do that because it’s not just about music. I don’t just play music to try to sell records or to try to be cool or try to be famous, I would rather not; to tell you the truth, I’d rather just be a regular old guy. It was killing me when I was flying for a living… I wasn’t doing the thing that I was supposed to be doing. I didn’t feel fulfilled, you know, that I was really doing the best for everybody in every situation. For my town, my state, my country, and the world… I just felt like there was something I wasn’t contributing.
“As soon as I started being a professional musician I felt this is the right place. Just keep going. It’s led me to everything that I’ve done. Like talking to you right now. Little did I know that my area would need the most help out of any area in this entire country. But there you go. There’s gotta be a reason why I’m here, why I know what I know, why I’ve seen what I’ve seen, and everything that I did before was a huge part of getting me involved in wetlands restoration. I saw it from the air, day to day, I would come in and talk about it and people would think that’s never going to happen in my lifetime. Every day I’m watching stuff wash away. Yes, this is going to happen in our lifetime. Learning it from the air, watching it from a bird’s eye view, it’s so much easier to see. All your questions are answered in a matter of minutes.”
[1] Liner notes. Voice of the Wetlands. www.voiceofthewetlands.com used with permission.
[2] For people in the NOLA area, Walter Williams will be on WWL, the CBS affiliate, Sunday morning, December 16, at 10:30 talking about why the oil industry is going to pay to restore the wetlands. They’re showing clips from his film about a class action lawsuit against big oil, and Williams will debate Chris John, representing the oil industry. Williams says, “Get ready for a wave of press about this subject in the coming weeks.” You can also watch the film at www.HealthyGulf.org
[3] On September 16, 2005, Senator James Inhofe, the Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator David Vitter of Louisiana introduced S. 1711, to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waive or modify the application of any requirement that is contained in any law under EPA's administrative jurisdiction, if it is necessary to respond in a timely and effective manner "to a situation or damage relating to Hurricane Katrina." On September 22, Senator Vitter and Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana introduced S. 1765 and S. 1766, identical bills to provide disaster relief and recovery incentives for Louisiana. These bills would allow the President to issue emergency permits under which any project carried out in response to the disaster would be considered to be in compliance with any applicable Federal law. Shadegg's H.R. 3836, would require expedited issuance of permits for Katrina-related refinery reconstruction. Verbatim Source: RL33107 Emergency Waiver of EPA Regulations: Authorities and Legislative Proposals in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
September 29, 2005, www.opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL33107/2005-09-29%2000:00:00
[4] It is noteworthy that Inhofe introduced the bill on Sept. 15, just one day after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that he was exercising the power granted by the REAL ID Act to waive all laws in order to expedite construction of border fencing near San Diego. See: www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/3091/1/315?TopicID=1
[5] Oil exploration has been ongoing in the Everglades area for 60 years. The Collier family retained the mineral rights to their land in the Everglades when they sold it to the federal government for the preserve in the 1970s. The government allows oil drilling as long as it doesn't harm the Everglades. The Collier Resources company currently draws crude oil from two well fields at opposite ends of the preserve. More than 110 mm barrels have been extracted to date. The oil is shipped in a 17-mile buried pipeline to tanker trucks that take the crude to Port Everglades, where it is shipped to Gulf Coast refineries. Oil drilling could increase to 10,000 bpd if all the requests are approved and oil is found below the surface. Seismic testing has been challenged by environmentalists over the years. See: www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/ntn20665.htm
Collier Resources is the primary holder of the oil and gas rights beneath the Everglades, which are estimated to hold about 40 million barrels of oil - enough to power the U.S. at current rates of consumption for two days. In 2002 Collier filed plans to explore and drill in beneath Big Cypress National Preserve, and the National Park Service gave its initial approval to the plan. In 2002, President Bush announced plans to spend $120 million to buy oil and gas rights on 390,396 acres of federally protected land in the Everglades to safeguard them from drilling. The decision came as the president's brother, then-Gov. Jeb Bush was seeking re-election and amid plans for a major expansion of drilling operations on the western edge of the Everglades. Members of the Collier family contributed more than $121,000 to Republican candidates in the last election cycle, including at least $5,000 to Jeb Bush, according to the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics. The buyout failed, and in 2006 Collier Resources began a search for new oil reserves beneath the Big Cypress National Preserve. The exploration plans call for dropping 5-pound explosives into 5,600 holes across 72 square miles. See: www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/apr/29/namesake_family_back_hunt_new_oil_reserves/?local_news
[6] The Cajun language is a mixture of French, Indian, African , and English.
