Breaking: Oil Makes Landfall, Cops Blocking Beaches, MoJo on the Scene [Video and Photos]

Photo: Mac McClelland

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

MoJo reporter Mac McClelland is getting one hell of a chilling story in Louisiana right now. This morning she headed down to the area where, according to online maps, oil from the BP fiasco was headed. Wherever she turned, she found sheriff’s deputies blocking the beach access roads—until she hit a beach at Grand Isle, and literally stepped into the mess. (Follow Mac on Twitter here.)

Here’s what unfolded in her tweetstream:

Has oil made landfall in port fourchon, LA? Can’t look, bc cops turned us around at bridge to beach. about 3 hours ago

Oil just hit land in grand isle. Blobs completely covering this shore. about 2 hours ago

Governor’s helicopters are flying overhead. about 1 hour ago

All these spots are blobs of oil. about 1 hour ago

All these spots are blobs of oil. on Twitpic

Crude all over my fingers. about 1 hour ago

Crude all over my fingers. on Twitpic

These vacationers say there was no oil earlier today; this shit all just started washing up, and it’s already everywhere. about 1 hour ago

This was when I realized oil arrived; when I stepped in crude. 42 minutes ago

This was when I realized oil arrived; when I stepped in crude. on Twitpic

5 sheriff’s cars have arrived. No pics allowed, no more access to elmer’s island. 27 minutes ago

The gov’s office has arrived. 10 minutes ago

The gov's office has arrived on Twitpic

Mac says the sheriff’s deputies who arrived at Grand Isle told her she couldn’t take pictures of them, but didn’t keep her away from the beach—yet. She’s headed back to New Orleans as we write, but will be back in Grand Isle later tonight. (Here’s some more background from the local media, and more pix.) UPDATE: Mac just called and noted that there are still kids on the beach, “splashing around in this huge sheen.”

Yesterday families vacayed among oil blobs (see all those bro... on Twitpic

This begs many questions, such as:

Why is law enforcement trying to stifle coverage of this horror? And, as our own Kate Sheppard (follow her on Twitter here) asks: Why is BP still in charge? Kate has also been following developments intensely, live tweeting the BP hearings, and breaking the latest news—ranging from concerns over these so-called chemical dispersants to the rig owner’s efforts to weasel out of responsibility. She’s covered BP’s fumbling containment efforts, its second Gulf rig, and its shameless attempts to downplay the problem: 5,000 barrels a day indeed! That’s how much BP says it is now recovering, and this thing is so far from being over.

You can keep on top of Kate’s and Mac’s dispatches on our home page, Facebook page, and by following their Twitter streams.

UPDATE: Here’s a video showing how sticky the stuff really is:

UPDATE 2: Check out these photos from Gov. Bobby Jindal’s tour of the fouled marshes.

(If you appreciate our ongoing BP coverage, please consider making a
tax-deductible donation.)

Follow Michael Mechanic on Twitter.


If you buy a book using a Bookshop link on this page, a small share of the proceeds supports our journalism.

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate