Today was a big day. After getting to meet all the athletes last night at dinner, we got on the bus this morning like good friends. There were 10 of us athletes and a bunch of people from the Sierra Club, Athletes for Hope and some of the athletes individual charities to help make our experience worthwhile and ensure the exposure we all wanted. Mike Richter and Andrew Ference represented the NHL, Mike Alstott and Ovie Mughelli represented the NFL, Leilani Munter is from Nascar, Krista Bradford is a fellow snow junkie and X-games snowboarder, Chanda Rubin from tennis and Gary Morgan and Loree Smith from USA Track and Field. On the plans for today was a tour of coastal wetlands of Louisiana to see where the oil has reached and what damage it has done.
We had about an hour bus ride out to one of the docks where boats are still allowed to come in and out. During this time we listened to some experts about what we were going to see and got some of the scientific info about everything from the why oil is toxic to why the oil rig blew up in the first place. As someone who has only heard what was going on from the news, it was incredible to get a new understanding of the problem. We also got to listen to a few of the athletes talk about their inspiration to be on the trip and how we are in a place to make a difference.
When we got to the dock we were greeted by some members of the media who were to accompany us on the boats. Mad Dog from CNN was there which was exciting for me, as I watch more CNN then any other channel (most of the time it is the only channel that is english speaking)! I was on a boat with Chanda Rubin and one of the most knowledgeable guys in all of Louisiana, Darryl Malek-Wiley from the Sierra Club. Darryl could answer any question thrown at him about the history and culture of Louisiana, the problems from Katrina and the oil spill itself. He gave unbiased answers and straight scientific facts which I didn't expect from the Sierra Club. I have always thought of the Sierra Club as a super liberal/radical group and Darryl proved my judgement wrong.
What we saw on the boats is more then I can write here. There was oil, lots of booms, a ton of birds, dolphins, and marshland that are all affected. We didn't go near any oil slicks or huge patches of oil on the surface of the water, but they think this is because of the the use of dispersants that have separated the oil and have it hiding under the surface. The oil is obviously there because it has covered sections of the grass in the marsh, and the pelicans have oil on their bodies. What struck me the most is the loss of marshland. This is not necessarily due to the oil spill, but from natural erosion caused by a lot of help from humans. The levee system that is suppose to protect New Orleans from storms has diverted the flow of fresh water and the silt that comes with it away from the marshes. This has caused a change in flow of the currents and allowed salt water into the marshes that can not take the salinity. Hurricane Katrina took out 200 square miles of wetlands itself and we learned a football field size of wetlands disappears every 45 minutes. Oil companies have also cut out straight lines of marshes for their pipelines which has a very dramatic affect on how the water flows. The problems in this area run so deep I cannot comprehend it, and the solutions to fix it are so few and so underfunded it is hard to comprehend this as well. Simply put, the wetlands protect the coast of New Orleans and Louisiana and they are no longer there to do their job. They are so fragile, and the last thing they need is a coating of oil.
After the tour, we raced back to the city for a tele-press conference. It was cool to see the other like minded athletes share our stories with the media. Then, in order to start and end the day in a spooky way, we all went on a Haunted Buildings of New Orleans tour. I didn't know America had a city with so much history and culture the way New Orleans does. Think Pirates of the Caribbean mixes with cowboys of the wild, wild west... such a cool place! Do you believe in ghosts?
Be back tomorrow when I can gather more of my thoughts of how the skiing world and myself can help this tragedy.
Author: Stacey Cook
New Orleans - Day 2
We had about an hour bus ride out to one of the docks where boats are still allowed to come in and out. During this time we listened to some experts about what we were going to see and got some of the scientific info about everything from the why oil is toxic to why the oil rig blew up in the first place. As someone who has only heard what was going on from the news, it was incredible to get a new understanding of the problem. We also got to listen to a few of the athletes talk about their inspiration to be on the trip and how we are in a place to make a difference.
When we got to the dock we were greeted by some members of the media who were to accompany us on the boats. Mad Dog from CNN was there which was exciting for me, as I watch more CNN then any other channel (most of the time it is the only channel that is english speaking)! I was on a boat with Chanda Rubin and one of the most knowledgeable guys in all of Louisiana, Darryl Malek-Wiley from the Sierra Club. Darryl could answer any question thrown at him about the history and culture of Louisiana, the problems from Katrina and the oil spill itself. He gave unbiased answers and straight scientific facts which I didn't expect from the Sierra Club. I have always thought of the Sierra Club as a super liberal/radical group and Darryl proved my judgement wrong.
What we saw on the boats is more then I can write here. There was oil, lots of booms, a ton of birds, dolphins, and marshland that are all affected. We didn't go near any oil slicks or huge patches of oil on the surface of the water, but they think this is because of the the use of dispersants that have separated the oil and have it hiding under the surface. The oil is obviously there because it has covered sections of the grass in the marsh, and the pelicans have oil on their bodies. What struck me the most is the loss of marshland. This is not necessarily due to the oil spill, but from natural erosion caused by a lot of help from humans. The levee system that is suppose to protect New Orleans from storms has diverted the flow of fresh water and the silt that comes with it away from the marshes. This has caused a change in flow of the currents and allowed salt water into the marshes that can not take the salinity. Hurricane Katrina took out 200 square miles of wetlands itself and we learned a football field size of wetlands disappears every 45 minutes. Oil companies have also cut out straight lines of marshes for their pipelines which has a very dramatic affect on how the water flows. The problems in this area run so deep I cannot comprehend it, and the solutions to fix it are so few and so underfunded it is hard to comprehend this as well. Simply put, the wetlands protect the coast of New Orleans and Louisiana and they are no longer there to do their job. They are so fragile, and the last thing they need is a coating of oil.
After the tour, we raced back to the city for a tele-press conference. It was cool to see the other like minded athletes share our stories with the media. Then, in order to start and end the day in a spooky way, we all went on a Haunted Buildings of New Orleans tour. I didn't know America had a city with so much history and culture the way New Orleans does. Think Pirates of the Caribbean mixes with cowboys of the wild, wild west... such a cool place! Do you believe in ghosts?
Be back tomorrow when I can gather more of my thoughts of how the skiing world and myself can help this tragedy.
Stacey