January 23, 2004

Ohh, nooo!!!

Mr. Bill is back again -- from the RedNova news site: bq. Mr. Bill tapped to help save LA swamps. bq. Mr. Bill, the "Saturday Night Live" clay character from the 1970s whose misadventures usually left him squished, will be part of a campaign aimed at teaching people - especially children - how Louisiana is losing its coastal marshes and swamps. bq. "I wish I had a quick three-word synopsis for it other than maybe Mr. Bill says 'Ohh, nooo!!! - the coastal erosion,'" said Walter Williams, Mr. Bill's creator and a native of New Orleans. bq. The campaign will be launched next summer with Mr. Bill and a gang of "Estuarians" - Salty the Shrimp, Eddy the Eagle, and others - talking about the shrinking coast. bq. "Our hope is to draw worldwide attention thanks to Mr. Bill," said Valsin Marmillion, a campaign consultant for "America's Wetland," an initiative kicked off last year by Gov. Mike Foster to drum up national support for the problem. bq. What's been lost is mind-boggling: Since 1930 more than 1,900 square miles of marsh - Louisiana's "trembling prairie" - no longer exist. That's an area roughly the size of Delaware. And the loss of land continues at about 30 square miles a year. This is actually very cool -- coastlines change. The idea of reversing the change is pure hubris but the idea of dealing with it and living with it and being aware of it is critical in learning to live with our planet. Posted by DaveH at January 23, 2004 10:47 PM