Heading to Jazz Fest today? If you’re there or in the neighborhood, keep an eye on the sky and check out our message to Shell, the sponsor of the event. We’re going to have a plane flying a banner over the festivities, reading: Shell, hear the music. Fix the coast you broke!As you well know, Louisiana loses a football field worth of vital coastal wetlands every 45 minutes. Did you know that Shell takes in about $2.3 million in profit in the same amount of time?The current estimate of the cost to fix our coast and secure our communities is $50 billion, but taxpayers can’t and shouldn’t shoulder that burden alone. Coastal scientists estimate that oil companies have caused 40-60% of the coastal land loss Louisiana is experiencing, so we’re asking them to be a part of the solution.While all the oil companies that have operated in the Louisiana coast have contributed to the problem, Shell has publicly expressed concern over the future of our coast, going so far as to help fund a public relations campaign to tell the rest of the country about our coastal crisis. Unfortunately, that PR effort fails to mention the oil companies’ role in the devastating wetland loss we’re experiencing. Louisiana needs a lot more than music right now, so help us tell Shell to put their money where their mouth is and fix the problem they played a part in creating:http://action.healthygulf.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=24446We’ll be outside the Sauvage Street Pedestrian Entrance Sunday morning as the Fest opens up, interviewing Fest goers about oil companies and their accountability for our coast for a documentary short we’re putting together. Stop by and share your views with us and pick up some flyers and a free t-shirt to help spread the message.United for a Healthy Gulf,AaronAaron Viles is GRN’s Campaign Director
