We have all been watching closely the environmental and economic disaster that continues to unfold in the Gulf. This evening I had the opportunity to meet and hear Philippe Cousteau, the president of EarthEcho International. He is also the grandson of Jacques Cousteau. The convening was co-sponsored by The Artists & Athletes Alliance and Be the Change. This entertainment and communications industry briefing was moderated by Dr. Corey Hebert, WDSU-TV Medical Editor, who in his own right is an expert on the topic of the spill’s affect on health.
EarthEcho’s name, Philippe explains the actions that we take in life echo throughout the planet. Everything has an effect. And this is the approach to his study of the Gulf spill. Even with the hopeful news of the cap going on earlier today, this disaster will have an effect on the region and ultimately the world for decades impacting ecology and commerce alike. He notes that the Gulf was not healthy to start with due to the runoff of the Mississippi River. This compounds an already challenging situation. He took a very pragmatic view that what happened in the Gulf is symptomatic of many factors from our dependence on fossil fuel, the local economy, lax safety regulations, short term energy public policy all in addition to the acts on the platform that led to the accident. There is so much in the news that I will stop here, it is the preceding sentence that hit home as to how we all can modify our lifestyles in a way that collectively will have positive impact on mother earth in the future.