Tomb of Toxins: Part III: Unearthing the Toxic Tomb

July 12th, 2010 | Natural Resources News Service | | Leave a comment
Photo: Allison Sickle
Photo: Allison Sickle
As a mustard yellow bulldozer about the size of a Jeep Rubicon rumbles forward and reverses hurling dirt into the air, cars rattle down Earhart Boulevard in New Orleans. The spring sun beams down baking six construction workers in neon yellow vests and white hard hats as they prepare to concrete the gutted neutral ground. Greg Dabalos, a concrete finisher from Command Construction Industries based out of Metairie, La., says his company did not tell him what used to exist on the grassy parcel across the street in this mainly black community. But before he could respond to additional questions, an employee from the construction company exited a truck and crossed the street directing all inquiries to their office.

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Tomb of Toxins: Part II: Toxic Waste by another name

July 8th, 2010 | Natural Resources News Service | | Leave a comment
Photo: Allison Sickle
Photo: Allison Sickle
A smashed Community Coffee cup and an empty bag of Lay’s barbecue potato chips line the five and a half-foot barbed wire fence around this once lethal grassy parcel. An unlocked gate allows easy access to this site, where plant operators cooked DDT and the main component of Agent Orange.

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Tomb of Toxins: Part I: Noxious Encounters

July 6th, 2010 | Natural Resources News Service | | Leave a comment
Photo: Allison Sickle
Photo: Allison Sickle
Spanish moss cascades from the twisted branches of live oaks shading New Orleans streets and luring tourists out of the French Quarter to pristine neighborhoods, like the Garden District. But few visitors venture to Gert Town, dominated by the old, gigantic Blue Plate sign. This sparsely inhabited neighborhood is home to Xavier University and the birthplace of famous musician Allen Toussaint. Floodwaters up to seven feet from Hurricane Katrina inundated Gert Town for about two weeks. Now, most businesses there are liquor-filled corner stores.

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Whales À la carte

June 24th, 2010 | Bulldog Blog | | Leave a comment
Photo: AFP
Photo: AFP
Although courageous diners sink their teeth into a variety of sea creatures, most sushi menus in the U.S. are limited: crispy eel, tuna nigiri, salmon sashimi – but what about the Moby Dick roll? Earlier this year, investigators discovered a Santa Monica Japanese restaurant, the Hump, was serving an endangered whale, Sei, as sushi after agents and environmentalists pocketed the meat for testing, says an article in The New York Times. And due to discord among members of the International Whaling Commission, some people wonder if these mammals will continue to make it to the plates of sushi lovers.

The International Whaling Commission, the 88-member government agency responsible for conserving whale stocks, met this week in Morocco. The agency considered lifting a nearly 25-year ban on commercial whaling – a compromise that some proponents argued would save the lives of whales.
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