Defending the Gulf

 After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area, Mississippi Gulf Coast residents were forced to come together to deal with the aftermath. Then, just as they were starting to get back on their feet, the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster dumped millions of barrels of oil into the water just off their shores.

Cumulatively, these events have made environmentalists out of a whole lot of Gulf Coast residents who may not have considered themselves as such. Al will take you an hour of stories about the fight for the natural world Gulf Coast bringing residents together, both with one another and with unlikely partners—and how, in some instances, that fight is turning out to be exactly what a community needed to survive.

You’ll learn about Turkey Creek, where a historic African-American community fights for its survival with the unlikely allies of rare birds and the Audubon Society. Al will also talk to a resident combing the beach for sea turtle strandings that they fear are related to the oil spill. We’ll also hear about former spill cleanup workers fighting for recognition of what they believe are oil-exposure-related health problems.

To enjoy the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast: Defending the Gulf episode, click here. There are three new episodes queuing up for you to enjoy, and we will keep you posted as they come. Episodes to look for: Wyoming; Cleveland, OH; and Sacramento, CA.