A Local View of the BP Oil Spill

While my last post was pointed through humor, this one is no laughing matter. The situation in the Gulf Coast region has pinned us all to our televisions for a good six weeks now with very little changed. My father lives in New Orleans and has weathered Katrina as well as this debacle. He wrote an email to a number of people including my siblings and me. I am reprinting it to give a local person's view of what's happening--with a twist. My father also runs a development fund for projects to help the Gulf Coast region. Please read. It's quite informative.

As I was shelling a batch of shrimp for dinner I thought I would update you on the oil spill from my perspective. I manage a $500 Million coastal restoration program in Louisiana - CIAP (Coastal Impact Assistance Program). The program is designated 65% to the state and 35% to 19 coastal parishes (counties). The funds are distributed to mostly Gulf Coast states and California and Alaska, i.e. those states that have oil drilling off the coast. The idea is that the states would share some of the oil royalties to off set some of the coastal problems/issues ( coastal deterioration, canals, oil and gas rights of way, etc) that result from the oil and gas industry. There is $1 Billion nationally to spend over 4 years of which Louisiana gets about 1/2 of that amount. This funding is a drop in the bucket given that the need has been calculated to be about $30 B. It has been calculated that the state is loosing a football field of coast every hour.

The state and parish projects are 95% selected and were based on public hearings, input from environmental groups, governments, state, universities, etc. My contract is to manage the entire program and report on each project to the Department of Interior's Office of Mineral Management Service (MMS) and to apply for grants as the projects are selected (that includes writing state grants and assisting parishes in their grants).

The oil spill is having an affect on a number of my projects. The largest is a $31M project on East Grand Terre to mine sediment from the bottom of the water about 3 miles away and pipe it to a barrier island to build it up and restore it for wildlife and to serve as a barrier for hurricanes and other weather events. The project is about 1/3 completed and now we have a problem: Contractor is on hold because there is oil and dispersants washing up on shore. Some of the dispersants settle to the bottom of the sea especially in the area where the sediment is being mined. There are other projects that are in design that will have to be re-thought.

The only 'positive' news for Louisiana (but not those states to the east -Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida) is that the Gulf of Mexico tide is taking the oil more toward the east of the delta of the MS River. Even though that means that there is a good possibility that the majority of parishes in the state will be minimally affected, those affected - Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines will be devastated since those are the parishes that the sensitive marshland and estuaries are located. There is good oyster, shrimp and fishing industry that thrive in those areas.

Some other thoughts:

BP - are they doing enough? The informed thinking is that they are using the best technology available to them to stop the oil from gushing. They are testing new technology. The ultimate relief will be accomplished when the alternative drill reaches the area in August. There is still a chance the cap that seems to be moderately working could fail - again this is new technology.

Who should pay? Easy answer BP. They need to start paying more for clean up operations and revenue loss by fishers (note the politically correct term - no longer fishermen)

Should the government take over the operation? Hell no! They don't have the technology.

The Politics

Were the marshlands protected soon enough? No but there is no way to put enough boom to stop the oil from reaching land. All of the ideas that have been suggest are very expensive (some with little science and engineering impact) and could not be put in place fast enough to protect the coast.

Are there people working on the clean up in Louisiana? yes - thousands including the national guard. At this time there are hundreds of miles of boom laid - boom can only stop but so much of oil - in rough waters, the oil goes over the boom.

What should people in Florida, MS and ALA do? They should try and fight the oil at least 10 miles off shore by laying as much boom as possible and have a method to collect the oil that is behind the boom. It is impossible to totally protect the coast at this point.

Reaction to Obama

Louisiana is a southern conservative state. Obama is not a favorite - for that matter any one in authority. Lots of racist coded wording in the reaction of the local politicians. He has visited 3 times and met with local folk. There are people on the ground, BP's feet will be kept to the fire - let's hope the company survives so it can pay.

The oil spill is just horrible! The pictures of birds and wildlife coated with oil is just appalling. It will be very expensive and will take decades to fully recover. Fishers in this area will be out of business for a long time - lots of those folks that's all they have done for generations. A number of people in that area migrated to the US from the Cape Verde and Canary Islands in the 19th century. There are also large pockets of Black communities in the affected areas that have been around a long time. They depend on fishing, recreation and the oil and gas industry.

Just some thoughts...

When I read this it gave life to all the images once again, but gave a graver picture of the economic impact on the region. The government may choose to 'bail out' BP just so they can be held financially accountable for the destruction they have caused for the long term.

And lastly, we better not hear about BPs executives getting elaborate bonuses in six months....

Why People Love Sarah Palin

I’m no political junkie. But Sarah Palin is just too good. No one can stop watching her even a year after she and the old man were readily dismissed in the presidential election.
We’ve heard it all. Sarah Palin has charm. She’s attractive. She appeals to the everyday American. Those are her strengths.

I’ll never forget when she stood in front of a guy stuffing a live turkey in a grinder talking about how she supports small business. Now I like eating turkey as much as the next guy, but I don’t want to see one slaughtered on the six o’clock news.

We watch her because she’s real reality television. She’s I Love New York, Tila Tequila, and Real Housewives of Orange County all rolled into one. We watch her because she’s a train wreck. You just know she’s going to do something that’s so ridiculous that you have to see it happen live. She wrote on her hands people! Can you remember the last time you did that? Probably in fifth grade when you were cheating on your multiplication tables test.

I’m certainly no hater. SP, make your money. Sell as many books as you can, do as many speeches as you can. Use your Sucrets. Keep your throat clear. This is the USA and it’s your time to capitalize. You weren’t going to get cheese in Anchorage.

Keith Olbermann can’t wait for Sarah to make an appearance because he knows he’ll have class A material and a frenzied audience ready to guffaw at her mishaps. I’d feel sorry for her except she orchestrates this stuff intentionally. She wants to portray herself this way. She’s an unintended comedian just walking through life. Her latest Facebook rant blaming the environmentalists for the BP oil spill disaster is just classic. Pure comedy.

Sure she’s a hypocrite. Perhaps she wasn’t the best running mate for John McCain. But she’s in the public eye now and everyone’s watching. I just can’t wait to see her, Pauly D, and The Situation doing “the fistpump” at the club on Jersey Shore. Tell me you wouldn’t watch that.

PatientsLikeMeOnCall™ Podcast Series

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but hey, I've been a bit busy. I've decided not to call out the airlines as I had discussed before at the end of my last post. It's just too easy.

Instead, this is just a quick post to ask you all to check out the new PatientsLikeMeOnCall™ podcast series that we've recently launched.

The series features staff from PatientsLikeMe talking about our initiatives and how we are moving health care forward. Definitely subscribe to hear the latest.

For more information on PatientsLikeMe in general, check out our company blog.

Travel Right! The Best Coach Cabins in the Sky

I travel a fair amount. Planes, trains, and automobiles. Mostly by air for the last three years, my travels have exposed me to many coach class cabins. Now seems to be a good time to rate the coach cabins of the top U.S. based airlines in the industry.

Note: this is not a ranking of the airline as a whole including frequent flyer programs, travel routes, customer service (no airline has good customer service), first class, prices, etc. Just coach.

Coach Cabin Rankings

4. Delta
This is not to be confused with Northwest. We’ll get to them soon enough (As an aside, I will miss the big ‘NWA’ on the side of their aircraft. Always made me chuckle.). Delta emerged from bankruptcy with newer planes, leather seats in coach, and a decent entertainment system. Their food choices, if you want to call them that, are pretty good if not reasonably priced. The flight attendants have been friendly for all of the 160,000 miles I’ve flown with them over the past two years. They lost a lot of my business discontinuing their nonstop service from LAX to Boston, though.




3. Southwest
Long known for their fun culture and service, Southwest coach is great. Still like the ‘sit where you want’ option (their ‘pilot’ test of assigned seating was nothing short of a traveshamockery). And now they offer travelers willing to pay a bit more the ability to get on the plane first in front of the fabled Group A. I’ve taken advantage of that a few times and haven’t decided if it’s worth it. Just check in early and you’ll get your aisle or window. Oh yeah, and in case you haven’t seen the ubiquitous commercials, Bags Fly Free.

2. JetBlue
If you ever question the value of crisis management consulting as a profession, talk to JetBlue. After they famously left people stranded on tarmacks around the country during the Noreaster a couple years ago, they’ve bounced back with great in-flight service after their admission of incompetence. Their “DirecTV in every seat” is still a great draw. The flight attendants are friendly and prompt. All seats are leather and even though they seem to be smaller than the coach seats on other airlines (or am I getting bigger?), I never feel uncomfortable. Why? Because JetBlue offers travelers the ability to pay more for more legroom seats. I’m 5’10” so I don’t need too much legroom, but the option is nice for redeyes. That’s important since JetBlue has picked up a fair share of the business Delta lost since it started flying direct from LAX to Boston. Happy Jetting!

















And the number one coach class airline experience is…



1. Virgin America
Where to begin. When you walk onto the plane it’s like you’re rockin’ 50 Cent: In Da Club. Add up the black lights entry, pilots donning all black uniforms (no corny pilot hats), a (RED) in-seat entertainment system, armrest remote controls, leather seats, and ample legroom, and you have by far the best coach experience. Their in-flight service is far superior to others because their flight attendants will bring you food and drink when you order, not just via a cart that stands in your way right when you MUST relieve yourself. The order system is part of the entertainment system. Their musical selection offers dozens of artists of every genre. My VA playlist includes Bach, Vivaldi, Rihanna, Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation 1814), Beyonce, John Legend, (I dropped Kanye after the Taylor Swift incident), Prince, Neo, Keysha Cole, Earth Wind and Fire…you get the picture. Travelers can pay $2.00 for a fairly decent pair of headphones too, but I suggest you have your own. And there’s more. VA offers a premium seating service called Main Cabin Select for seating at bulkheads and exit rows. Cost is $100 extra which isn’t reasonable on a short flight, but can make a difference flying cross country. Lastly, they have a creative safety video that gets annoying after the third time seeing it—which is good since most people tune out after hearing the same compliance speech begin. I won’t spoil it, but Richard Branson does make reference to the Mile High Club as a standard part of the video. VA gets the lion’s share of my LAX to Boston travel these days, and I don’t mind one bit.


















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So there you have it. My top coach class airline experiences. The top airlines all have segmented the market by offering a premium coach option. They sport leather or equivalent comfort seats. Their market research has paid off from my perspective. While, there are plenty of poor airlines getting their deserved negative attention, I want to recognize airlines that are performing well.

That said, coming soon, I’ll give you the three worst coach cabins. Hint: the Detroit-hubbed airline that I grew up flying will make an appearance.

Take It Higher

As many of you know, I dabble in poetry and spoken word. Even music back in the day. Check out some of my original tracks.

Droppin' a piece for inspiration. This is an excerpt from a duet single recorded with my good friend Katrina Runge (pictured right). Check the verse. Peace.

Take It Higher

Take it higher
Aspire to achieve what you believe
To be your calling
No more stalling it’s time.
Define who you are
Today and tomorrow
It’s OK to borrow from your history.
‘Cause it consistently reminds us
Of the sorrows that bind us
So they can no longer blind us
And we can put it behind us.
Subtract the minus
Make a positive impact on Earth
You decide your worth.
Free your mind and in time
You will find your way
It ain’t easy in the world today
Nobody can be you
So smile in your mirror
And fly like an eagle!

Bil:Pil Conference Presentation on PatientsLikeMe

Last week I gave a 30 minute talk about PatientsLikeMe at Bil:Pil, the unconference following TEDMED in San Diego (where Jamie Heywood made an amazing presentation, by the way). The topic of my presentation was "A Healthy Mix with an Economic Twist." I focused on how difficult it can be to make money in the Health 2.0 space because companies must balance patient needs with commercial reality to keep the doors open.

Central to that discussion for PatientsLikeMe are our core values. As I've discussed many times before, it is our imperative to keep patients first in all of our endeavors, including building the revenue base for the company, because we must honor the trust patients give us in sharing their deep health information.

There was a mini-flurry of twitter activity during the talk as well. Check out some of the thoughts from leaders in the space to the left.










What do you think? Video from Bil:Pil will be available in the coming weeks. Kudos to Jonathan Sheffi and team for organizing a great unconference!

PatientsLikeMe Case Study by Claremont Grad Students

Last year I gave a talk at an e-health conference hosted by the Kay Center for e-Health Research at Claremont University about PatientsLikeMe. A team of graduate students created an impressive case study of PatientsLikeMe utilizing video from my talk as well as other video content we have produced.

Below is the talk I gave to explain the PatientsLikeMe open platform and why patients often choose to create health profiles that anyone on the internet can view.

Lastly, attendee Ted Eytan, MD gave a quick reference to the talk on his blog also. Thanks for the kudos!

Any questions? Drop a comment below. Thanks!