The video of Susan Shaw speaking at TEDxOilSpill hit TED.com today.

Q&A with TEDxOilSpill Organizers on the TED Blog →

Emily McManus’ Q&A with TEDxOilSpill organizers Dave Troy and Nate Mook talking about how the event came together.

Carl Safina’s presentation from TEDxOilSpill is now up on TED.com. The poster frame is one of my shots from Barataria Bay. I was happy to loan it to be the image for his talk on the TED website.

Chilling Effects on Barataria Bay

On of the constant things we ran into on the TEDxOilSpill Expedition was getting access. It wasn’t just about security guards and barriers. No. Most of our access issues were caused by something much more subtle: BP legal agreements with their contractors.

For example, while we were there, it was almost impossible to find a boat and somebody to take you out onto Barataria Bay. Most of the fisherfolk were put into a serious cash crunch by the cancellation of what promised to be a lucrative shrimp season. To make ends meet, they’re taking the jobs BP is offering to work on the clean up. 

Usually, when we approach people to ask if they could take us out, the conversation would start with the usual pleasantries. After all, it’s the South where a neighborly hello goes a long way. But when we mentioned that we’d like to get out on the water, the conversation immediately chilled. “Sorry, we can’t do that,” would come the answer. “We’re prohibited from taking anybody out, especially photographers. In fact, we’re really not even supposed to be having this conversation.”

The chilling effect imposed by these restrictions on BP contractors is quite effective. It helps keep people off the water and makes it hard to see everything that is going on. If you’ve ever worked with a large company that covers all the bases in agreements, including copious uses of NDAs, you’ll recognize the strategy. When applied to a large territory because all the money is coming from one company, it leads to an effective blockade.

We had a bit of hope when we ran across this sign in a shrimper dock advertising services to photographers and reporters:

We immediately called, but when we got ahold of Al, he immediately said, “Man, I’m sorry. I switched sides. I had to do it. I needed the money.” When we asked if he knew anybody else, the answer came back negative. Everyone was taking the money.

Everyone, that is, but Joseph, who we hooked up later that night with and who took us out onto the bay a few times in his modest 15’ flatboat. I wonder how long he’ll keep doing that, however. After all, he could use the money as well. With that money will come the end of his freedom to take others out to see what is going on.

PBS Need to Know: Drilling Down →

I believe this is the Need to Know segment that will air tonight on PBS which reports on the TEDxOilSpill event last Monday as well as features an interview with speakers David Gallo, Lisa Margonelli, and Sylvia Earle. 

The TEDxExpedition team—from left to right, assistant Danielle Sipple, photographer Kris Krüg, writer Darron Collins, photographer Pinar Özger, and myself—with our trusty rental Xterra outside of Sarah’s cafe in Grand Isle, Louisiana. (photo from kk+’s flickr stream)

One of the photos from the Dear New Orleans group at TEDxOilSpill. It was amazing to watch people jump at the chance to make a statement by writing something on their body with a Sharpie and posing. (photo by dearneworleans)

The TEDxOilSpill Expedition team—Pinar Özger, Darron Collins, Kris Krüg, and myself—joins event organizer Dave Troy on stage at TEDxOilSpill. What we did out in the Gulf was a true team effort and I’m proud to be a member of that team. (image is a screen capture from the livestream)

TEDxOilSpill Stream Archive →

In case you missed the livestream of TEDxOilSpill, it’s been spooled off and archived. This link goes to the segment of the event that I spoke in. Skip to around 31 minutes in to get to the expedition segment. I spoke first. Then Darron did a great job telling three stories (at around 43 minutes into the stream). Then we had a bit of Q&A with the team.

The streaming chunks up the photos, but most of them seem to fill in nicely after a moment. And the chunky codec hides some of “missing photo” icons that I was fighting through during the presentation. As I said on Twitter, I’m planning on re-recording the audio and expanding some of the ideas slightly as well as showing the complete set of photos. I should have that out soon.

Updated! The streaming video archive has been majorly improved. Links updated.

TEDxOilSpill Expedition Expense Report →

When I put out a call for donations to the TEDxOilSpill Expedition, I promised transparency so that donors would know their money directly supported our efforts and didn’t go to pay for vacations after we returned home. Here’s my report on that front.