Fact-Finding Mission to Help Gulf Coast Fishermen

Fact-Finding Mission to Help Gulf Coast Fishermen http://www.citizeneffect.org/blogs/264/feed en-us #CitizenGulf - Unfolding a Social Media Strategy http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/citizengulf-social-media-strategy <p><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The following is a guest blog post by Geoff Livingstong via</span></span></strong> <a href="http://frogloop.com"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em>frogloop.com</em></span></span></a><br />  </p> <p><img border="2" align="right" alt="" style="padding: 5px; margin-left: 5px; width: 225px; height: 286px;" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/449/gulf-blog_01.jpg" /></p> <p><img border="2" align="left" alt="" style="padding: 5px; margin-right: 5px; width: 70px; height: 83px;" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/447/Geoff.jpg" /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The CitizenGulf project was just unfolded last week. <a href="http://citizengulf.org/">A national event on August 25</a> with would-be meet-ups throughout the country designed to create awareness for the <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/projects/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission">Citizen Effect project</a>, seeks to raise funds and awareness for fishing families. The effort also fits the nonprofit's citizen empowering philanthropy philosophy, which is identifying actionable problems and solutions amongst major problems, such as this one -- the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. How does one go from an oil spill to a national meet-up event? What strategies and tools will be deployed? Here's an inside look on how we scaled from a nonexistent program to a national effort in just three months.<br /> <br /> <strong>Strategy Begins with Research</strong><br /> <br /> We began our effort with a very visible citizen reporting trip featuring Citizen Effect's Dan Morrison and May Yu, Jill Foster, and myself that informed our strategy. Specifically, though it raised awareness via successful <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/people/geoffliving?numResults=10&view=documents">CNN iReports</a>, photos, video, podcasts, blog posts, and social network outreach, the effort provided critical insights:<br /> </span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://geofflivingston.com/2010/06/29/the-plight-of-the-louisiana-fishing-family/">Defined the problem facing fishing families</a>, an identifiable and actionable issue within the larger oil spill context. Stories were a critical component of social media to make any cause relatable.<br /> </span></span></li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Indentified a local 501c3 (Catholic Charities of New Orleans) that has relationships with the fishing families as well as a possible solution, educating their children.<br /> </span></span></li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Found local partners to work with, namely cause promoter <a href="http://www.thecausemopolitan.com/">Sloane Berrent</a> and her existing network of national Gulf Coast supporters like Andy Sternberg via <a href="http://www.gulfcoastbenefit.com/">Gulf Coast Benefit</a></span></span><br />  </li> </ul> <p><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">To read the full blog post visit</span></span></strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span><a href="http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2010/7/27/citizengulf-unfolding-a-social-media-strategy.html?SSScrollPosition=151" style=""><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">frogloop</span></em></a></span></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/citizengulf-social-media-strategy">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/citizengulf-social-media-strategy#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="677">leave a comment</a> Brett W. 677 at http://citizeneffect.org August 25 – CitizenGulf’s National Day of Action http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/august-25-citizengulfs-national-day-of-action <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">The following is a guest blog post by </span></span><a href="http://geofflivingston.com"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Geoff Livingston</span></span></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><img width="350" height="225" border="2" align="right" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/423/Fishing_Families_Wait_for_Aid.jpg" />Mark your calendars! Citizen Effect's </span></span><a style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: rgb(166, 208, 253) 0px 0px 0px; " href="http://www.citizeneffect.org/projects/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">CitizenGulf project</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> will become a National Day of Action on August 25th, in alignment with the week of the fifth anniversary of Katrina. The benefit — to be promoted by </span></span><a style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: rgb(166, 208, 253) 0px 0px 0px; " href="http://gulfcoastbenefit.com/"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Gulf Coast Benefit</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">— seeks to help fishing families find a new, more sustainable future by providing education resources for their children.   </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; ">You Can Help Many</strong> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Catholic Charities of New Orleans is the beneficiary of all CitizenGulf National Day of Action donations. Citizen Effect will send 100% of donations, less credit card fees, directly to Catholic Charities to support education programs for fishing families.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><strong>There are three things citizens like you can do to help:</strong></span></span></p> <p> <meta charset="utf-8" /></p> <p style="text-align: left; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">1) Attend or host your local event</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">2) Donate</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">3) Support Gulf Coast Benefit’s Pepsi Refresh project.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Donations can be given directly through the main </span></span><a style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: rgb(166, 208, 253) 0px 0px 0px; " href="http://www.citizeneffect.org/projects/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">CitizenGulf project page</span></span></a></p> <p style="text-align: left; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://geofflivingston.com/2010/07/19/august-25-citizengulfs-national-day-of-action/"><span style="font-size: small; ">Click Here To Keep Reading: A Day of Action Means Jazz, Blues, Zydeco, and More</span></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "> </span></p> <p style="text-align: left; "> <meta charset="utf-8" /><span style="font-size: small; "> <meta charset="utf-8"><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><i><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Photo credit — Geoff Livingston</span></em></i></span></meta>  </span></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/august-25-citizengulfs-national-day-of-action">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/august-25-citizengulfs-national-day-of-action#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="650">leave a comment</a> talia r. 650 at http://citizeneffect.org Opening #CitizenGulf to You http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/opening-citizengulf-to-you <p><img width="525" height="350" border="2" align="absMiddle" hspace="5" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/411/Kerry__Sixth_Generation_Fisherman.jpg" /></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">The following is a guest blog post from <a href="http://geofflivingston.com">Geoff Livingston</a> on Opening the CitizenGulf Program with Citizen Effect's <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/about_us">Dan Morrison and May Yu</a> and Live Your Talk's <a href="http://liveyourtalk.com">Jill Foster</a>. <br /> <br /> "On Monday, July 19 at 6 p.m., the CitizenGulf project team will host a meet-up at </span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><a href="http://affinitylab.com">Affinity Lab here in Washington, DC (U Street location)</a></span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">. </span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">The <a href="http://bit.ly/citizengulf">Citizen Effect Gulf Mission</a> project </span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">will be opened up to the social web at that time (</span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128225673886469">register here</a></span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">). Interested parties who cannot intend in person can participate via U-Stream.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">We will begin the session with a conversation and questions and answers about the CitizenGulf fact finding mission. It has always been the project’s intent to provide meaningful action to anyone who wants to help the Gulf. So we will announce a national day of action in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans (August 27). Anyone can participate in this CitizenGulf day of action. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Based on our <a href="http://bit.ly/citizengulf">fact finding mission</a></span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">, we believe the clearest path to create concrete meaningful action for concerned citizens is to build a program that will directly benefit the fishing families in Louisiana who have lost their livelihoods thanks to the BP oil spill. Our program will include a local 501c3(s) that is working directly with the fishing families. Further, we are adding partnering organizations as we build the program out.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Anyone can participate in #CitizenGulf with as little as a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128225673886469">Facebook</a> Like or a small donation to hosting your own event or agreeing to take on #CitizenzGulf action. Organizations that want to be a part of the project, whether as contributors or as promotional partners are welcome, too. An organizing committee of CitizenGulf members are actively being created as we speak."</span></span></p> <p><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-size: small; line-height: 24px; "><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Photo credit — Geoff Livingston</span></em></span> </i></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/opening-citizengulf-to-you">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/opening-citizengulf-to-you#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="632">leave a comment</a> talia r. 632 at http://citizeneffect.org Citizen Journalism Hopes to Impact BP Crisis http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/bp_impact_for_hope <p> <meta charset="utf-8"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">The following is a guest blog post by </span></span><a href="http://cynthiapricecommunique.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Cynthia Price</span></span></a> </meta> </p> <p><a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(178, 106, 22); " href="http://geofflivingston.com/"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><img width="200" height="300" hspace="2" border="2" align="left" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/395/gulf-photo.jpeg" />Geoff Livingston</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">, a professional communicator, author and co-founder of Zoetica, is taking citizen journalism to the Gulf today. He and others want to find ways to help the fishermen impacted by the BP oil spill.<br /> </span></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Says Geoff, “We will use all of our blog tools and social media capabilities to tell the stories of the people we meet and share them with our online community.”</span></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">“It will be the personal story of how the spill is impacting people,” Geoff said Friday. “The story is so big it’s daunting. We want to bring it down to a personal level.”</span></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Working with </span></span><a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(178, 106, 22); " href="http://citizeneffect.org/"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Citizen Effect</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., Geoff and others will be in the Gulf this week to talk with those impacted and with those who are able to affect change.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">In addition to the social media platforms, Geoff says, he already has several commitments for wider distribution. “We anticipate it being reported a little bit,” he says.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">“I want people to feel like they can do something,” says Geoff. “We have to help each other. We want to find a way to help out the fishermen.”</span></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">One way to do that is to tell their personal stories.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; "> <meta charset="utf-8"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Photo credit — Geoff Livingston</span></em></span></span> </meta> </p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/bp_impact_for_hope">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/bp_impact_for_hope#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="569">leave a comment</a> talia r. 569 at http://citizeneffect.org Is Obama Doing Enough For the Gulf? http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/is-obama-doing-enough-for-the-gulf <p> <img width="250" height="158" border="2" align="right" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/393/Fleeing_Cow_Ray.jpg" /><img width="250" height="158" border="2" align="right" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/391/Oil_Stained_Seaweed.jpg" /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">With Fisherman's livelihoods continuing to be threatened due to the recent </span></span><a href="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=bp+oil+spill"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">BP Oil Spill</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">, </span></span><a href="http://citizeneffect.org"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Citizen Effect</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> Team members, as well as bloggers, </span></span><a href="http://geofflivingston.com"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Geoff Livingston</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> and <a href="http://liveyourtalk.com">Jill Foster</a></span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> embarked on a fact-finding mission. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Upon arrival, an "incompetence" by the Obama Administration was quickly discovered. Specifically, in the lack of honesty about how bad the situation really is. While some beaches saw a loss of 50% in tourism, others saw schools of cow rays making speedy retreats from the oil stricken waters. Coupled with the lack of aid being supplied to unlicensed fisherman, it was obvious that continuous help is needed.</span></span></p> <p><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theelshow/2010/07/06/the-el-show-featuring-richard-laermer-and-geoff-li"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Listen</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> as the El Show's Geoff Livingston and Richard Laermer discuss:</span></span><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> </span></span></p> <p> <meta charset="utf-8"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> </span></span> </meta> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Geoff’s takeaways from the Gulf, including how bad the environmental disaster is and the Obama administration’s performance (</span></span><a style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: rgb(166, 208, 253) 0px 0px 0px; " href="http://geofflivingston.com/2010/07/02/best-citizengulf-photos-whats-coming-next/"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">photos here</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">)</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">The PR Snow Job that we're getting in the Gulf</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">The Plight of Unlicensed Fishing Families</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Next Steps for the CitizenGulf Campaign</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> <em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Photo credits — Geoff Livingston</span></em> </span></span></p> <p> <meta charset="utf-8" /></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/is-obama-doing-enough-for-the-gulf">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/is-obama-doing-enough-for-the-gulf#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="562">leave a comment</a> talia r. 562 at http://citizeneffect.org Gulf Trip Podcasts http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/gulf-trip-podcasts <p><img width="550" height="235" vspace="3" hspace="3" border="2" align="textTop" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/383/A_Trail_of_Oil.jpg" /></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Check out recorded </span></span><a href="http://www.cinchcast.com/geoffliving"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">audio and accompanying tweets</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> by </span></span><a href="http://www.geofflivingston.com"><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Geoff Livingston</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> from Citizen Effect's recent informative, yet heartbreaking, mission to the Gulf.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Listen to the team discuss their initial dreams and goals, as well as their changing perceptions of BP after watching first hand account of relief efforts by the company.</span></span></p> <p> <meta charset="utf-8"><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span style="font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Photo credit — Geoff Livingston</span></span></span></em> </meta> </p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/gulf-trip-podcasts">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/gulf-trip-podcasts#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="561">leave a comment</a> talia r. 561 at http://citizeneffect.org Audio and Visual Essay: Gulf fishing families and Their Community http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/audio-and-visual-essay-gulf-fishing-families-and-their-community <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">For Jill Foster, the <a href="http://www.citizeneffect.org/projects/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission">Citizen Effect's Gulf Mission</a> has, "been one of the most enriched yet toiling journeys."</span></span></p> <p><img border="2" align="baseline" width="350" height="263" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/377/BP-sign-mother-nature.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Be a part of the Fact Finding Mission with first hand accounts and interviews through pictures, videos and audio taken by Jill Foster with the Citizen Gulf Team on her <a href="http://jillfoster.posterous.com/">Posterous Page</a> and Blog, <a href="http://www.liveyourtalk.com">Live Your Talk</a>.</span></span><a href="http://liveyourtalk.com"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Photo credit — Jill Foster<br /> </span></span></span></em></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/audio-and-visual-essay-gulf-fishing-families-and-their-community">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/audio-and-visual-essay-gulf-fishing-families-and-their-community#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="547">leave a comment</a> talia r. 547 at http://citizeneffect.org Best of CitizenGulf Photos and What is To Come http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/best-of-citizengulf-photos-and-what-is-to-come <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The following is a guest blog post by </span></span><a target="_top" style="color: rgb(242, 117, 73);" href="http://geofflivingston.com/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Geoff Livingston</span></span></a></p> <p><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="2" align="right" width="261" height="350" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/375/4747298710_8657a6133c.jpg" alt="" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">[<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoliv/sets/72157624281004717/">Click Here</a>] to find a slideshow of my favorite photos from our </span></span><a href="http://bit.ly/citizengulf"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Citizen Effect Gulf Mission</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> trip. The slideshow really tells the story of what we saw. Quite a crushing blow has been dealt to the Gulf marine environment and the communities built around it. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The fact-finding trip, representing the listening phase of our effort, is complete. You can find links to all of the content — from CNN iReports, photos and podcasts to Mashable, Live Earth and other blog posts — aggregated on the </span></span><a href="http://bit.ly/citizengulf"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Citizen Effect Gulf Mission project</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> page. We will likely write an executive summary over the next week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Next steps will be a public gathering here in Washington, DC the week of July 12. Time and location to be determined, but we will U-Stream it. At that time, the Citizen Effect team will review our findings (</span></span><a href="http://geofflivingston.com/2010/07/01/gulf-needs-more-bp-obama-oil-spill-recovery-efforts/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">find my initial conclusions here</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">), take questions, and announce our program of action, which will likely be a Day of Citizen Action.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The entire purpose of the trip was to assess the situation first hand, and then create a way for Americans across the country who want to find mindful ways to help. This Day of Citizen Action will be the start of the program, and will provide several ways, from a simple Facebook Like to full on grassroots activism, for people to act. Stay tuned.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Photo credits — Geoff Livingston</span></span></span></em></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/best-of-citizengulf-photos-and-what-is-to-come">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/best-of-citizengulf-photos-and-what-is-to-come#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="546">leave a comment</a> talia r. 546 at http://citizeneffect.org From the Gulf: learning to see the invisible http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/from-the-gulf-learning-to-see-the-invisible-2 <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The following is a guest blog post by </span></span><a href="http://www.liveyourtalk.com"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Jill M. Foster</span></span></a></p> <p style="margin: 14px 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; outline-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/371/Grand-Isle-humvee-GL-300x199.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" hspace="2" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/371/Grand-Isle-humvee-GL-300x199.jpg" /></a>I traveled to the Grand Isle for the first time this week, expecting to see a community of locals. The goal, along with fellow Washington, DC bloggers on <a href="http://www.citizeneffect.org/projects/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission">Citizen Effect's Gulf Mission</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">blogging trip, was to meet and learn from fishing families about the oil disaster – hoping to find <a href="http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/04/30/the-gulf-coast-oil-leak-how-to-help">ways to help out</a>.</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Despite beaches being inaccessible due to disaster response, I assumed neighborhoods and eateries would still be active hubs for local folks we could talk to.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 14px 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; outline-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">But it was all quiet.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><br /> </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 14px 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; outline-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Those visions I had of neighborly conversations on porches or in the popular diner or beachfront restaurants were nowhere.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 14px 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; outline-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Other things became apparent there though and elsewhere in the state, making me uneasy for the environment here: </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 14px 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; outline-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">To read this post in its entirety, visit Jill Foster's </span></span><a href="http://liveyourtalk.com"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">blog</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /> </span></p> <p style="margin: 14px 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; outline-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> </p> <p style="margin: 14px 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; outline-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Photo credits — Jill Foster<br /> </span></span></span></em></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/from-the-gulf-learning-to-see-the-invisible-2">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/from-the-gulf-learning-to-see-the-invisible-2#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="541">leave a comment</a> talia r. 541 at http://citizeneffect.org The Gulf Needs More Than BP/Obama Oil Spill Recovery Efforts http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/the-gulf-needs-more-than-bpobama-oil-spill-recovery-efforts <p> <meta charset="utf-8"> </meta> </p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"> <meta charset="utf-8"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The following is a guest blog post by </span></span><a target="_top" style="color: rgb(242, 117, 73);" href="http://geofflivingston.com/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Geoff Livingston</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. </span></span> </meta> </p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><img border="2" align="absMiddle" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/373/4747326380_79d2cb5911.jpg" alt="" /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Our </span></span><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://bit.ly/citizengulf"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Citizens Effect Gulf Mission (full team reports here)</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> meetings with nonprofits over the past few days wrapped up. Beyond the incredible environmental damage dealt to the Gulf of Mexico, it’s apparent that an equally damaging blow has been dealt to the fishing communities of the Gulf. As we have learned from </span></span><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://www.louisianaseafood.com"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">the Louisiana Seafood Marketing and Promotion Board</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, </span></span><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://www.ccano.org/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">the Catholic Charities of New Orleans</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> and others, the vast impact on the Louisiana economy and its cultural way of life have been drastically underestimated by the Obama Administration and BP as reported by the media.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Marketing and Promotion Board estimates the problem to be a $100-$200 billion economic calamity (see above video). But because of the ongoing PR and legal culpability that’s being fought between the Obama Administration and BP, Gulf states are floundering.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">A national disaster has taken place, but we see no FEMA, no disaster relief, no long-term aid. </span></span><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://patterico.com/2010/06/25/a-whale-oil-skimmer-heads-for-gulf/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ships that can remove 85% of the oil are turned away</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> by the EPA, and</span></span><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://www.openmarket.org/2010/06/14/obama-blocked-clean-up-of-bp-oil-spill-by-friendly-countries-international-assistance-blocked-by-regulations-obama-had-the-authority-to-waive/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">foreign help is turned away, too</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, again thanks to federal regulation.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Instead, a $20 billion pledge from BP is supposed to cover it. Culpable, yes. Capable of addressing the widespread calamity resulting from the oil spill? No. The Gulf may be irreparably harmed by not only the oil spill, but by our reaction to it; namely, the Obama Administration’s failure to declare the oil spill a national disaster, and the general U.S. societal turning our backs on this issue and expecting BP to pay for it.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">To read this post in it's entirety visit Geoff Livingston's </span></span><a href="http://www.geofflivingston.com"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Blog</span></span></a>.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Photo credit — Geoff Livingston</span></span></span></em></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/the-gulf-needs-more-than-bpobama-oil-spill-recovery-efforts">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/the-gulf-needs-more-than-bpobama-oil-spill-recovery-efforts#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="538">leave a comment</a> talia r. 538 at http://citizeneffect.org The Plight of the Louisiana Fishing Family http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/plight-of-louisiana-fishing-family <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The following is a guest blog post by </span></span><a href="http://geofflivingston.com/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Geoff Livingston</span></span></a><br />  </p> <p><img border="2" align="right" alt="" style="padding: 5px; margin-left: 5px;" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/365/4742540601_2bc464e38f.jpg" /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">The </em></span></span><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;"><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://bit.ly/gulfmission"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Citizen Effect Gulf Mission</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> team sat down yesterday with Natalie A. Jayroe, president and CEO of the</span></span><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://no-hunger.org/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> Second Harvest Food Bank</span></span></a></em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;"> of Greater New Orleans (serving 23 south Louisiana parishes). Our ongoing goal remains finding an actionable way for Americans to take positive mindful ways to act in the wake of the Deep Horizon disaster.</em> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">Jayroe told us her view of how the fishing families of Louisiana have been affected by the oil spill. The following post is based from that conversation.</em></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">An area the size of Great Britain was devastated with Katrina. The entire region had to rebuild, and nonprofits and community realigned themselves to rethink New Orleans. Five years after Katrina they are seeing another devastating disaster, and,</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/psychological_toll_of_gulf_of.html"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">it’s been very tough on many fishing families</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. in once case, </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=37124&wf=rsscol"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">a fisher committed suicide</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">There is nothing finite right now on how to handle the post oil spill economy. One step forward has yet to be determined. There are 49,000 Louisianans that have fishing licenses, and in all 150,000 people are affected immediately. The oil drilling moratorium has put another 40,000 people out of work.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The secondary and tertiary circles of job loss have yet to be </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(213, 96, 54); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgb(166, 208, 253);" href="http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/28/oil-spills-economic-damage-may-not-go-beyond-gulf/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">felt in the Gulf</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. The ripple effect could be huge. The local economy is tourism and oil, so both of the big economic drivers of the state have been challenged.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Fishing is an up and down business. The fishing families of Louisiana are traditional and self sufficient, and do not gladly take government benefits. Fishing families take advantage of federal benefits at a rate 10-20% lower than the rest of the state. They don’t accept help readily. They don’t like case work. They just want to go back to work.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><img width="321" height="227" border="2" align="left" style="padding: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/367/4742134041_38c7a79fd8.jpg" /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Five or six generations of fishing families live by the tides. When this is taken away from them, there is little chance to take on a new career.</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /> <br /> Their next job opportunity is often oil rigs. So they are less likely to take swipes at BP, it’s a huge part of their economy.<br /> <br /> The fishing families think about how they are going to get through this today and tomorrow. Most of them are still trying to keep the oil off the shores. They liken it to fighting a war, and hope they will be able to shrimp next year. If there’s a way to survive they will do it. They are about subsistence and survival, and they will what they have to live with the land.<br /> <br /> To create that next generation of sustenance income would require the community to take on a lot of education work. You would need to do a lot of front line activity with the community to evolve. They would need to band together. Given the fiercely independent culture of the fishing families here, it’s a dubious outcome…<br /> <br /> The environmental impact from the oil spill will likely be felt for decades, stifling the marine life and fishing industry. The BP Deep Horizon oil spill <a href="http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/oil-spills-psychological-toll-quietly-mounts">may have permanently devastated this fishing culture</a>.</span></span></span><br /> <br /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Long Term Impact for Second Harvest</span></span></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /> <br /> Second Harvest knows this issue will continue a long time after the oil spill is capped. It could take years. The organization estimates that more than 47,500 fishing homes may eventually require food assistance as a result of the Gulf oil spill.<br /> <br /> Because it’s not a national disaster declared by the President, federal food commodities (via disaster SNAP) can’t be given out.Fact Check: Louisiana Department of Social Services. If Obama declares the oil spill a National Disaster, BP would no longer be liable. The bailout fund is not necessarily going to benefit the Gulf directly. That means disaster resources are not making it to the Louisiana parishes today.<br /> <br /> The organization has already provided 200,000 meals through disaster relief sites in the impacted areas since May 1. The demand is making a direct impact on Second Harvest’s stores before hurricane season, stretching their resources. BP has paid the organization $350,000 to replace these recources.<br /> <br /> Second Harvest Food bank became the largest foodbank in history following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The foodbank distributed 8 million pounds of food in September 2005 alone.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 13px; display: block; line-height: 1.5; white-space: normal;"><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Photo credits — Geoff Livingston</span></span></span></em><br /> <em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://geofflivingston.com/">Geoff Livingston</a> is a regular contributor to <a href="http://liveearth.org/en/liveearthblog">the Live Earth blog</a>.</span></span></span></em></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/plight-of-louisiana-fishing-family">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/plight-of-louisiana-fishing-family#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="504">leave a comment</a> Brett W. 504 at http://citizeneffect.org What We Hope to Achieve http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/hope-to-achieve <p style="text-align: center;"><object width="450" height="271"> <param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0bgqFVzy7Po&hl=en_US&fs=1&" name="movie" /> <param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /> <param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess" /><embed width="450" height="271" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0bgqFVzy7Po&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></embed></object></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="line-height: 19px;" class="Apple-style-span">Our mission has grand hopes. We don’t just want to engage in Citizen journalism. We want to provide a means for Americans across the country to act in a mindful, impactful way. The above 2 minute video details our line of thinking.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="line-height: 19px;" class="Apple-style-span">Video & posting credit — <a href="http://geofflivingston.com/">Geoff Livingston</a></span></span></span></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/hope-to-achieve">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/hope-to-achieve#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="503">leave a comment</a> Brett W. 503 at http://citizeneffect.org Trepidation and Hope Before Grand Isle http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/trepidation-hope-grand-isle <p style="text-align: center;"><object width="450" height="271"> <param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/K2WMhU8A6lQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" name="movie" /> <param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /> <param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess" /><embed width="450" height="271" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/K2WMhU8A6lQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></embed></object></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We begin our </span></span><a href="http://geofflivingston.com/2010/06/13/gulf-mission-to-help-the-fishermen/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Citizen Effect Gulf Mission</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> fact finding effort this morning by heading right into the eye of the storm – Grand Isle. As you can tell from our short video, there was a mix between trepidation and hope the night amongst the team before we set out.<br /> <br /> In reality, none of us know what to expect. We can only hope to gain clarity and understanding, that a path to help the fishermen and those families and business affected becomes clear to us.<br /> <br /> Afterwards, we head back to New Orleans for a meeting with the </span></span><a href="http://www.gnof.org/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Greater New Orleans Foundation</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> and </span></span><a href="http://no-hunger.org/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Second Harvest New Orleans</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. The entire mission project is being aggregated on the </span></span><a href="http://www.citizeneffect.org/projects/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Citizen Effect web site</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">.<br /> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Video & Post Credit — <a href="http://geofflivingston.com/">Geoff Livingston</a></span></span></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/trepidation-hope-grand-isle">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/trepidation-hope-grand-isle#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="497">leave a comment</a> Brett W. 497 at http://citizeneffect.org What to Expect on Our Gulf Mission http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/what-to-expect <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The following is a guest blog post by </span></span><a href="http://geofflivingston.com/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Geoff Livingston</span></span></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">"What have they done to the earth? What have they done to our fair sister?" – Jim Morrison, When the Music Is Over</span></span><br /> <img border="2" align="right" alt="" style="padding: 5px; margin-left: 5px;" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/343/4729252680_c7559bf0e3.jpg" /><br /> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/sets/72157624287659712/with/4728735271/"><span style="font-size: smaller;">Images by Kris Krug from his TedX OilSpill Expedition set.</span></a><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The time is almost upon us for our </span></span><a href="http://geofflivingston.com/2010/06/13/gulf-mission-to-help-the-fishermen/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">well-discussed Gulf Mission</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. Thank you all for your support. Together, I will work with </span></span><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Citizen Effect’s Dan Morrison and May Yu</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> to find an actionable, tangible way for people across the country to help those suffering as a result of the ongoing Deep Horizon oil spill.<br /> <br /> <strong>We have a clear goal:</strong> Work with local charities and people to find a way to help Gulf fishermen who have likely </span></span><a href="http://network.bestfriends.org/groups/rapidresponse/15497/news.aspx"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">lost their careers, their tradition</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. How will be determined on the trip. We already have meetings set with the </span></span><a href="http://www.louisianaseafood.com/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">; the </span></span><a href="http://www.gnof.org/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Greater New Orleans Foundation</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">; </span></span><a href="http://www.ccano.org/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Catholic Charities</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, including site visits to constituents of America’s Second Harvest, the Archdiocese, fishermen; and with </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/sloane"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sloane Berrent</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, who is organizing </span></span><a href="http://www.thecausemopolitan.com/nationwide-gulf-benefit-concerts-july-1st-to-benefit-gulf-restoration-network/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">a nationwide Gulf Coast Benefit</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> concert event on July 1.<br /> <br /> Along the way we have committed to a full citizen journalist effort. What does that mean? We will be blogging, tweeting, photographing, sending mini live podcast reports, etc. throughout our days from the Gulf. We already have several commitments to distribute that content beyond our blogs and social media properties.<br /> <img border="2" align="left" alt="" style="padding: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/345/4720885287_596339b7c5.jpg" />But it’s more than just on the scene reporting, it’s an attitude: We will ask hard questions. When it comes to </span></span><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/23/2934719.htm?section=business"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">our government and BP</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, we will not assume they are doing the right thing. In fact, evidence shows that they continue to stumble, with </span></span><a href="http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0620/bp-burning-sea-turtles-alive/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">atrocities like burning endangered turtles to death</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> rather than rescuing them.<br /> <br /> We will tell real people’s stories. We will show their faces, and we will listen to them and show their viewpoint. And we will highlight those special angels on the frontlines fighting to protect the Gulf and the people most afflicted by this tragedy.<br /> <br /> It’s with an attitude of service that we fly to New Orleans on Sunday. I hope you’ll join us for this journey.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><img alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/citizeneffect_production/blog_assets/347/4711719965_efb63c2564.jpg" /></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/what-to-expect">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/what-to-expect#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="495">leave a comment</a> Brett W. 495 at http://citizeneffect.org A Preview of the Journey to the Gulf http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/preview <div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;" class="Apple-style-span">Over <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/05/how-much-oil-has-spilled-in-the-gulf-of-mexico.html">79 million gallons of oil</a> have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 22, 2010. <span> </span>After two months, the conversation still revolves around what happened, how it happened, and who can be blamed. <span> </span>But no one has been able to clearly tell us what will be done to help the people who have been hurt the most. <br /> </span><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> <br /> Citizen Effect is not waiting for BP or the government to answer that question. </font></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><img width="250" vspace="3" hspace="5" align="left" alt="4697808892_dc55335417.jpg" src="https://d0dd6912d5-custmedia.vresp.com/library/1277314074/3ef5981877/4697808892_dc55335417.jpg" /><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">On June 27<sup>th</sup>, Citizen Effect’s Dan Morrison and May Yu will join prominent journalist Geoff Livingston of Zoetica and <a href="http://mashable.com/author/geoff-livingston/">Mashable</a> on a fact-finding mission to the Louisiana Coast. Our goal is to create <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/projects/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission">a true Citizen Effect</a>: partner local charities with Citizen Philanthropists and start a national fundraising drive to help families in the Gulf find a sustainable, environmentally-friendly future. <br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Our journey centers around the people in the Gulf — fishermen, small businesses and local organizations — and listening to the problems they face and the practical solutions that can help them the most. <br /> <br /> <a href="mailto:gulf@citizeneffect.org">Tell us</a> what you'd like us to find in the Gulf Coast and help us better represent you — the citizen. Follow us on our mission to help communities in the Gulf via <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CitizenEffect">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/citizenEffect">Twitter</a>, and <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/projects/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission">blogs</a>.         </font></p><a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/preview">read more</a> | <a href="http://citizeneffect.org/blog/gulf_oil_spill_fact_finding_mission/preview#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="481">leave a comment</a> Brett W. 481 at http://citizeneffect.org