Last week, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) held a press conference at the Hilton Hotel across the street from the New Orleans airport and next door to a massive makeshift dump set up to handle the tons of wreckage created by Hurricane Katrina. As he stood with businessmen from the area, brought together to lead the cheer about how New Orleans would be rebuilt as quickly as possible, the media threw softball questions about the city's economic future. Thankfully, Sierra Club staffer Darryl Malek-Wiley, who lives in New Orleans, was also in attendance and took the opportunity to ask the following question:
"Senator Vitter, you've cosponsored Senate Bill 1711, which is going to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to basically waive all environmental health regulations. Why do you think that needs to happen? Why would we want this additional law, which will make Louisiana less protected?"
View Vitter's response: QuickTime | Windows Media
Senator Vitter
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Sierra magazine senior writer Marilyn Snell was in Louisiana a week after hurricane Rita hit the western part of the state. She bought her tickets months ago--and got much more than she bargained for: a closeup look at hurricane havoc and what she calls "the hieroglyphics of tragedy." Her articles based on this journey will appear in the January/February and March/April issues of Sierra.
Back to Notes from the Gulf main page.
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Photos: Marilyn Snell/Sierra Club collection; all rights reserved.
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