Gulf fisheries in decline after oil disaster

By Dahr Jamail | Al Jazeera English | Published: March 6, 2012

Nearly two years after BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, fishermen and scientists say things are getting worse.

Fishermen, like Greg Perez in Louisiana, are seeing huge declines in their catches (Erika Blumenfeld/Al Jazeera)

New Orleans, LA – Hundreds of thousands of people living along the US Gulf Coast have hung their economic lives on lawsuits against BP.

Fishermen, in particular, are seeing their way of life threatened with extinction – both from lack of an adequate legal settlement and collapsing fisheries.

One of these people, Greg Perez, an oyster fisherman in the village of Yscloskey, Louisiana, has seen a 75 per cent decrease in the amount of oysters he has been able to catch.

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BP settles while Macondo ‘seeps’

By Dahr Jamail | Al Jazeera English | Published: March 3, 2012

As BP pays billions in settlements, scientists are concerned about a persistent oil seep near the Macondo 252 well.

Some experts believe the oil is seeping from BP's capped Macondo 252 well (Erika Blumenfeld/Al Jazeera)

New Orleans, LA – As BP settles out of court for the first phase of thousands of lawsuits that could cost the company tens of billions of dollars, Al Jazeera has spotted a large oil sheen near the infamous Macondo 252 well.

In September 2011, Al Jazeera spotted a large swath of silvery oil sheen located roughly 19km northeast of the now-capped well.

But now, on February 29, Al Jazeera conducted another over-flight of the area and found a larger area of sea covered in oil sheen in the same location.

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BP Goes to Court

By Dahr Jamail | Al Jazeera English | Published: February 26, 2012

The largest environmental trial in US history begins March 5, as BP is sued for its 2010 oil spill disaster.

Oil seepage near BP Macondo well

Oil and sheen have been visible in recent months due to seepage near BP's Macondo well (Erika Blumenfeld/Al Jazeera)

New Orleans, LA – It was the largest marine oil disaster in the United States, and now BP’s trial is the largest and most complex environmental lawsuit in US history.

In what is being called by many “The Trial of the Century”, a thousand plaintiffs, a multitude of witnesses, and at least 20,000 exhibits will converge at a US district court in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 5 for litigation surrounding BP’s oil disaster that began on April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Oil: In perpetuity no more

By Dahr Jamail | Al Jazeera English | Published: February 22, 2012

Industrial civilisation’s entire economy is based on a finite resource we treat as infinite.

No-one knows exactly how much oil remains in most OPEC countries, with reserves a closely guarded secret (Erika Blumenfeld/Al Jazeera)

Oil touches nearly every single aspect of the lives of those in the industrialised world. Most of our food, clothing, electronics, hygiene products and transportation simply would not exist without this resource.

There is a reason why oil giants such as ExxonMobile, BP, Total and Royal Dutch Shell, year in and year out, generate more profit than most other companies on the planet.

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