It Can’t Happen Here – The Costa Concordia
By Wickersham’s Conscience The Costa Concordia still lies on her side off the Tuscan coast, with 16 confirmed dead and many still missing. Alaskans know, to their sorrow, that not all ship’s captains are scrupulously careful, not all crew members fully qualified, and not all accidents truly accidents. A Dutch salvage company is struggling to off load the half million gallons of fuel still on the ship, before something fails and another of the world’s pristine marine environments falls victim to industrialization. In this case, industrial tourism. But as sad as the Costa Concordia’s story is, as tragic as the…
Vulture’s Picnic – My Home is Now a Strange Place (Installment 4)
Here is the next installment of Greg Palast’s new book Vulture’s Picnic. He has allowed The Mudflats to bring you Chapter 7 – My Home is Now a Strange Place in its entirety. This is an exclusive excerpt, just for Mudflatters. I find it absolutely riveting. If you need to catch up, here are links to the first three installments. Installment 1 Installment 2 Installment 3 ********************************** Chapter 7, continued By Greg Palast STEINHATCHEE, FLORIDA We also needed witnesses. I needed insiders who would spill to outsiders. To find them, I needed a hound dog. I needed a blonde. I…
Exxon Valdez – The Final Showdown?
~An Exxon Valdez oil-filled footprint on a beach in Prince William Sound, known as “The Death Marsh” and “Diesel Beach.” Taken July 4, 2010 – twenty-one years after the spill. (photo by Jeanne Devon) By Prof. Rick Steiner In what could be the final court showdown regarding environmental damage from the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, tomorrow (1:30 PM, Tuesday Nov. 15, 2011) the U.S. District Court in Anchorage will hear oral arguments regarding the final payment from Exxon for long-term environmental injuries from the spill. The present Court proceedings were triggered initially by my 12/7/10 amicus motion, then the…
Vulture’s Picnic – My Home is Now a Strange Place (Installment 3)
[This is the third installment of Chapter 7, My Home is Now a Strange Place from Greg Palast’s Vulture’s Picnic. Many thanks to Mr. Palast for providing The Mudflats with an exclusive of this story that is so critical to the state of Alaska, and reveals so much about the corporate interests that still dominate here.] By Greg Palast PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, ALASKA, 1989 State Inspector Dan Lawn, grabbing a fast launch from Valdez, was the first to reach the shipwrecked tanker, risking the ride through the sickening fumes and fountains of crude that could explode with the touch…
Vultures Picnic – My Home is Now a Strange Place (Installment 2)
By Zach Roberts It’s weird where life takes you. In 2006, I started working for Greg Palast. He was one of my heroes. Most people know him for breaking the story of the stolen 2000 election. That was how I was introduced to his work as well, but the story that made me want to work for him was one of the lesser known ones from his best-seller The Best Democracy Money Can Buy “A Well-Designed Disaster: The Untold Story of the Exxon Valdez.” It blew me away. Everything I knew about one of the most important events in American history…
Vulture’s Picnic by Greg Palast – A Mudflats Exclusive Excerpt
By Zach Roberts Hey Mudflatters – In addition to my duties as New York Bureau Chief of The Mudflats, I’ve taken on working with Greg Palast. You might have heard him on the Shannyn Moore Show talking about the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He was a forensic economist for the Chugach Natives – kind of a Sam Spade, except with numbers (not as sexy… and no whips). He uncovered the fact that it wasn’t the drunk Captain, but Exxon being cheap that caused that man-made disaster. The story made him give up his day job and start working as a…
Exxon Denies Long Term Environmental Damage to Prince William Sound – A Day in Court
~Oil sheen from the Exxon Valdez spill fills a footprint on the beach 21 years later in July of 2010 Tomorrow will be a historic day. After 22 years, the final word will be had on the long-term environmental damage from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Last summer, I traveled to Knight Island in Prince William Sound. The point of landing was “Diesel Beach.” As you can imagine, this is a post-1989 name. You can read my post Walking With the Ghost of Exxon HERE. The long-term impact on Prince William Sound has been significant. With resident orca populations expected…
Voices from the Flats – Dear Sarah, You're Not Alaska.
By Zach Roberts Special note: This is a message to Sarah, that I sent to her via Facebook. Alaskans will get all the places, some of the references and some of the names. If you don’t get them, give it a Google, or read TheMudFlats.net (why aren’t you reading it already? What’re you a member of the Paliban?) Or better yet, get your butt on the next flight up to Anchorage. Yes I know it’s November and it’s cold… that means flights should be cheap. Go to Spenard Roadhouse get the Bacon Jam and tell them I sent you. ***************…
Palin Matchmakes for a Gas Line
By Shannyn Moore Governor Sarah Palin is sleeping with the enemy of many Alaskans. Her trip to Houston, Texas to discuss a merged project with TransCanada and Exxon Mobil betrays Alaskans still reeling from last year’s devastating Supreme Court verdict. It flies in the face of anyone with a memory of 20 years let alone last June. Exxon promised to “make Alaskans whole” and they never did; just another broken promise piled on top of all the others. Last year, Palin’s AGIA (Alaska Gasline Inducement Act) passed into law, awarding TransCanada $500 million in state funds to build the 1,700…
Palin, the Pipeline, and Exxon
Rumors were circulating last night, but it looks like its going to be official. Palin tweeted about her conversations with Alaska’s congressional delegation and the need to flow Alaska’s gas to “hungry markets,” and guess who’s going to help? The pipeline company TransCanada announced today that it has an agreement with Exxon Mobil Corporation to work together on an natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the Lower 48. “We are pleased that TransCanada and ExxonMobil have reached agreement on initial project terms to progress this exciting initiative,” Hal Kvisle, TransCanada president and chief executive officer, said in a written statement….