Feature
August
19
Future Leaders of America’s Gulf
by Terry Trahan, Jr.
BP has stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf and hopes to seal the problem for good, but the Gulf Coast continues to feel the heavy effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a calamity that motivated a group of local teens to consider their generation’s voice on the issue.
Future Leaders of America’s Gulf, their budding organization, has been doing its part since June to make sure that young people understand the spill’s effects, both now and in the future.
“We’re the generation that inherits all these problems,” says Vinny Cannata, a senior at Vandebilt Catholic High School. “We were down in Grand Isle for the first weekend of summer. It’s when it hit us that this is going to be huge. We wanted to get it out there how important Louisiana is to the rest of the country.”
Elected voices have put in their two cents about the disaster, but FLAG aims to address the issues without the obstacles that politics presents.
“A lot of the time it’s getting out there with a political spin,” says James Michael Chauvin, who volunteers in a congressional candidate’s office. “If you rely too much on the version that has spin on it, then somebody is going to lose something that they want or need.”
To them, the message is not about Democratic or Republican agendas. The goal rests in spreading the word about the Gulf’s significance in contributing to the nation’s energy and economic survival.
Want to learn more about
FLAG and the group’s mission?
Connect with the group on Facebook,
or visit their Web site at www.laflag.org.
FLAG’s mission focuses efforts locally and nationally. Locally, the group plans to provide a medium for youth to express their opinions about operations happening now and what that means for their future. Through social networking, the teens will keep their peers informed about current events and possibilities among new voters and leaders.
Nationally, FLAG aims to distribute information about the spill and its effects to anyone willing to listen. Their purpose is to make the public aware of the consequences that may extend into the future.
The oil and fishing industries dominate the economy in their communities. The Gulf produces 30 percent of the nation’s oil alone. If rigs move their operations overseas due to the U.S. government-imposed moratorium, FLAG knows that future generations may be in jeopardy without the financial boost.
“I’m worried about five years from now when I’m in college — 15 years from now when I have a family,” Chauvin says, pondering ensuing effects. “The oil industry and the fishing industry are intertwined. They help each other to prosper.”
FLAG has set up a Facebook page to stay connected with individuals who seek more information or want to join their cause. The group plans to utilize social networking’s technological benefits to reach people and organizations that would have remained silent in the past.
High school organizations like student councils and Key Clubs will also help to get young minds involved in the cause. Connections among these groups lead to talks with business owners and politicians, the sources that can provide data and an inside view of the bigger picture.
Two weeks ago, FLAG privately met with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus before a town hall meeting he hosted at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. President Barack Obama appointed Mabus to head Gulf Coast recovery operations following the oil spill. The group talked to the secretary about the importance of young people becoming a part of the strategy.
“We learn about the problem to help be part of the solution,” Cannata says. “We don’t have the beaches, but we’re a working coast.”
