FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2010
Contacts: Kristina Johnson, Sierra Club, 415-977-5619
Oliver Bernstein, Sierra Club, 512-289-8618
Gulf Coast Marks Katrina Anniversary, Copes with BP Disaster, Leads on Clean Energy
Sierra Club Events Highlight Green Building, Community Preparedness;
Michael Brune Featured in New Spike Lee Film
New Orleans - As the fifth anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita approaches, Gulf Coast residents are continuing to cope with the damage wrought by the latest tragedy, the BP oil disaster.
Gulf Coast communities are also leading the way in clean energy solutions that will prevent future oil disasters and help combat climate disruption and the catastrophic weather events it will bring. In the five years since Katrina and Rita, Sierra Club has helped the Gulf Coast rebuild green, invest in energy efficiency, restore wetlands, and expose toxic FEMA trailers. The organization has also helped low-income communities along the Gulf Coast fight back against environmental injustice.
On Sunday, Sierra Club staff and volunteers in New Orleans will mark the Katrina anniversary and highlight Gulf Coast solutions. A schedule of events is listed below.
In addition, Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune is featured in a new Spike Lee documentary airing this week about the hurricane and the BP disaster. More information on the film, titled "If God is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise," is available here: http://sc.org/dvqXGd
Statement of Sierra Club New Orleans Environmental Justice Organizer Darryl Malek-Wiley:
"This is a difficult time for those of us along the Gulf Coast, as we remember all our neighbors who were lost in the storms five years ago, and now those who lost loved ones and livelihoods in the BP disaster.
The Gulf Coast is the front line of climate change and oil pollution. We've been hit harder than most by hurricanes and now, a catastrophic oil spill. These tragedies were caused and worsened by corporate polluters who were allowed to skirt health and safety laws.
We do not want to see any more preventable tragedies in the Gulf Coast. Here in Louisiana, we're leading a bold effort to combat climate change and make sure communities are better prepared for the damage it will bring.
The Gulf Coast is not a dead zone that should be handed off to the polluting industries. The Gulf Coast is part of the solution. We are helping move America towards a clean energy future that will create jobs and safer, healthier communities."
Selected Hurricane Katrina 5th Anniversary Events
August 25th: Global Green Events--Andry St at Douglas St. 6:30-8:00pm
Honoring memory of Pam Dashiell; Contact number Global Green Office 504-525-2121
August 26th: Community Garden Education Center ownership transfer from Preservation Resource Center (PRC) to the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, 603 Forstall St, 4:30--5:30 pm, PRC 504-581-7035 Maryann Miller 504-312-9202
August 27th: Preservation Resource Center (PRC) at 5200 Dauphine St.; Series of workshops and demonstrations projects highlighting green design elements incorporated into the building of 5200 Dauphine St. the new office of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association and its Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development. 10am-5pm PRC 504-581-7035 Maryann Miller 504-312-9202
August 27th: Restore Trinity: An exhibit of Katrina images featuring the work of Mario Tama of Getty Images and other photographers. 4--8p.m. at Trinity Lutheran, 5234 North Claiborne; sponsored by Camp Restore Kurt Jostes Office: 504.242.2636 ext. 5015 Cell: 504.289.4497
August 28th: Block Party in appreciation of residents 500 Caffin Ave 4-7 p.m.; Aperture Publishing, Oxford American Magazine, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Preservation Resource Center Contacts PRC 504-581-7035 or Keith Calhoun 832-368-1679
August 28th: Party at the Village 1001 Charbonnet Street from 7-10 p.m.; Contact Mack McClendon 504-402-4284
August 29th: Mobile Art Exhibition: In the Lower 9th Ward 1717 Deslonde Street, New Orleans: A Community Voice in partnership with ‘Make it Right’ in the commemoration five years after the storm. Contact: Andy Levin 504 701-0961
August 29th Sunday 8:30--11:30 a.m.: Bravery, Strength, Resilience. The Lower Ninth Ward Katrina Memorial Commission Invites everyone to the 5th Annual Hurricane Katrina Memorial Celebration will begin at the Lower Nine Monument -Tennessee St. @ N. Claiborne. The Honorable Maxine Waters to serve as keynote speaker. Contact: Donna M. Dugue’ Office of Councilman Jon D. Johnson 504-658-1050 dmdugue@cityofno.com
29th: 10am Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School "Remembering Katrina: 5 Years Later" Join the staff and students as we celebrate life, fortitude and the future. Corner of Caffin Ave. & Claiborne Ave. Music, jazz band, interpretive dance and food. Contact Sylvia Ellison, Project Director 504.940.2243
August 29th: March from Levee Breach to Potters Fields
Contacts: Darrell Warren 509-496-2668---Upenda Glover 504-940-5681
August 29th: 6pm Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu - Commemoration and Determination: Katrina V: A special event to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina as the city commemorates the lives lost and celebrates the spirit of determination in all of us as we look to the future. Washington Artillery Park (located at Jackson Square)
August 29th 9:00 p.m.: Group Photographic Projection on the Levee Wall: Images of Katrina - Stanley Greene, Andy Levin, Kadir Lohuizen, Alan Chin, Debby Fleming Caffery, Jake Price, Anthony Suau, Lee Celano, Jennifer Zdon and friends N. Roman and Deslonde Street at the Industrial Canal Levee Light refreshments/burgers; Contact: Andy Levin 504 701-0961
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