Senator Robert C. Byrd

Robert C. Byrd, the senior Senator from West Virginia, died today at the age of 92. Byrd was the longest-serving member of Congress in United States history.

Senator Byrd's Official Senate homepage

Statement of the President on the passing of Senator Byrd

Senator Byrd's entry in Wikipedia

Local Art

You might have seen Olympia artist Nikki McClure's paper-cut artwork in the library or engraved on the benches outside. Take a look at this short video, made for the Discovery Channel, where Nikki talks about her work.

Nikki McClure from dicky dahl on Vimeo.

BP and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Many of today's college students were not yet born when the Exxon Valdez oil spill took place in 1989 off the coast of Alaska. The legacy of that disaster lives on, and until April 20, 2010, it was the worst oil spill disaster the United States had ever seen. We do not yet know what the final economic and environmental price tag of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be; however, we know that we will be paying it for years to come.

Ongoing coverage from Louisiana newspaper The Times-Picayune

Official emergency response page from the State of Louisiana

Official emergency response page from the White House

Official site of the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command (site established by the U.S. Coast Guard)

Gulf of Mexico response page from BP

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trust Council - established to oversee the $900 million legal settlement. For an eye to the future, visit this page and imagine what sort of years-hence response might be established in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill. What will the 20th anniversary report look like? What sorts of restoration projects will have been undertaken, and how successful will they be? Will the United States reach the 20th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizono oil spill without having had yet another such disaster? Only time will tell.