Are you more picky about picking up our gems?

[drdduet]

When it comes to cards I still buy what I like, but when it comes to investments I am going green--building a self-sustaining home and clinic (solar, wind, biomass) and ensuring a fresh water supply--with some nifty contraptions.

Even though I can pretty much walk out to the lake behind my home or the bayou in front of it and get all the oil I want, it disgusts me.

[barrysloate]

Darren- is Cut Off close to the oil spill?

[drdduet]

Yes Barry,

We are a shrimping community located on Bayou Lafourche, a tributary of the Mississippi River. We are about 30 miles just north of the Gulf of Mexico. Basically Cut Off and all of the towns of southern Lafourche Parish sit on the banks of Bayou Lafourche surrounded by the marshes of the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary.

I am the Chief Medical Officer of the company involved in servicing this "rig". We are also the company sending the images to the media with our ROV's. Our community's whole livelihood and culture is based on the seafood industry and oil and gas.

[barrysloate]

It's a terrible tragedy Darren, and it looks like it will only get worse.

[drdduet]

It is a horrible thing, and you're right it will only get worse. As the rest of the Nation celebrates once this thing gets capped off, we will live in a devastated wasteland for years. What's worse one or two hurricanes will stir up the oil from the bottom and push it further inland.

We've given the rest of the country tremendous resources, top producers of oil, seafood, sugarcane--but we're just ignorant folk down here.

[barrysloate]

It almost seems like a full cleanup will be impossible. When I see some of the footage I get sick.

[drdduet]

And the oil hasn't really made it to shore yet. What we are seeing is the leading edge making it to land--maybe 10,000 barrels, on 40 million more to go.