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PDFFrom Institute for Southern Studies:
[T]wo community advocates and regional leaders from the Gulf Coast, Bryan Parras and Derrick Evans, brought an urgent message to BP’s board and shareholders at the corporation’s annual meeting. Here are Evans’ remarks as prepared for delivery. Evans is the founder of Turkey Creek Community Initiatives, a founding advisor of the Gulf Coast Fund, and a Bridge The Gulf advisor and contributor. He is from Gulfport, Miss. Read more about the meeting here.
I am here today on behalf of scores of thousands of everyday people in coastal Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Texas whose livelihoods, physical health, and inter-generational way of life have been disrupted, compromised or outright destroyed by one or more of the myriad impacts caused by the 200 million gallon oil spill that commenced on Earth Day 2010. Unimpeded for three months, the Macondo Well hemorrhage and its multi-sector impacts remain an environmental and social catastrophe of epic proportions that does indeed necessitate an “unprecedented” expenditure of concern, time and money — as well as unprecedented honesty, good will and diligence.
I regret to report, however, that the Gulf is not clean, families and small businesses have not been made whole, and other far-reaching consequences are by no means “over” for anyone directly concerned — including you who are gathered here today. With dispersed, sunken, bulldozed, and buried sweet Louisiana crude still washing ashore, the possibility of a future hurricane storm surge dredging and depositing yet more onto our land-based ecosystems and communities is real if not imminent.
So is the possibility that your stock values will suffer significantly once this happens, or once other unfortunate truths about the company’s behavior, impact or liability become more fully disclosed or manifested in ways that cannot be circumvented. False assurances that the oil is gone or that normalcy has returned to the Gulf Coast should not be taken with any greater confidence than past assurances of Deepwater Horizon’s safety, or of the blown out well’s rate of discharge into the Gulf.
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