Rose Aguilar spoke with Riki Ott on the sixth-month anniversary of the BP oil disaster -one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history.
In 1989, Ott, a marine toxicologist who lives in Cordova, Alaska, experienced firsthand the devastating effects of the Exxon Valdex oil disaster.
She’s spent five of the past six months traveling back and forth between Louisiana and Florida to gather information about what’s really happening in the Gulf and share the lessons she learned about long-term illnesses and deaths of clean-up workers and residents. She’s planning to return in January.
Part II – Riki Ott on the Gulf: “These People Have Oil in Their Bodies.”
In this interview with Rose Aguilar, Riki Ott talks about the health crisis caused by the BP oil disaster in the Gulf. She says she’s currently dealing with three or four autopsies and knows of people who are down to 4.7% of their lung capacity and have enlarged hearts. “These people have oil in their bodies,” she said.
She believes four to five million people in the Gulf were exposed to either acute or intermediate levels of oil at dangerous levels.
Part III – Riki Ott on BP: “They’ve Got Our Politicians Completely Hamstrung.”
In this interview with Rose Aguilar, Riki Ott talks about whether BP will ever be held responsible for the oil disaster, BP’s partnership with NOAA in schools, the oil disaster’s long-term effects on the ecosystem, the citizen uprising in the South, and the most effective way to save the planet from further destruction.
————————
For More About Her Work, Visit: https://www.rikiott.com/
Related Stories:
Experts: Health Hazards in Gulf Warrant Evacuations by Rose Aguilar
https://is.gd/ghWRz
White House Blocked and Put Spin on Scientists’ Warnings – Guardian
https://is.gd/fP4sZ
Report: White House Suppressed Information on Oil Spill – AP
https://is.gd/gaSX9
Parents Just Say “No” to BP, NOAA School Propaganda Campaign – Examiner
https://is.gd/gbf9p
Principal Defends Inviting BP and NOAA to Educate Her Students About Oil Spill – Raw Story
https://is.gd/gbfdH
BP Educates Terrebonne Students on Oil Spill – Tri-Parish Times
https://is.gd/gbeZK
Oaklawn Students Engage in Oily Experiment – Houma Today
https://is.gd/gbf52
Rose Aguilar is the host of “Your Call,” a daily call-in radio show on KALW 91.7 FM in San Francisco and on KUSP 88.9 FM in Santa Cruz. She is author of “Red Highways: A Liberal’s Journey Into the Heartland.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.