The Black Tide Book Tour hits Colorado tonight and tomorrow night, then wraps up in California for two final dates following a whirlwind tour that took author Antonia Juhasz throughout the US and over to London, England.

Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill is a searing look at the human face of BP’s disaster in the Gulf. This book tour lands in Colorado Tue 5/3 (tonight) at the Boulder Bookstore in Boulder and Wed 5/4 at the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver. 7:30pm start time both nights. Then on to Moe’s Books in Berkeley, CA on Wed 5/11 at 7:30pm and last but not least, the tour culminates on Thur 5/12 at 7pm at the Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA.

Find more details about these events on our Black Tide Book Tour Dates page.

To get an idea of what to expect at the book launch events, here’s a video of Black Tide author Antonia Juhasz:

This piece was originally sent to our Freedom from Oil list. Be the first to receive news updates and action items by signing up for our e-mail lists.

One year ago today the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off of the coast of Louisiana killing eleven men and igniting the largest oil disaster in U.S. history.

To mark the one-year anniversary, I released Black Tide, and joined Gulf Coast residents harmed by the disaster at BP’s annual shareholder meeting in London and at PowerShift in Washington, DC.

I have shared the statements of those who could not attend these events, including Keith Jones, whose son Gordon died aboard the Deepwater Horizon.

I appeared on Democracy Now!, BBC, NPR and other shows and have written several articles, including “Questions for BP and the oil industry, one year after Deepwater Horizon,” for the Harvard School of Journalism.

As BP spreads its wealth to the GOP, we are spreading the message that the one-year anniversary is THE moment to remind the nation and the world that the Gulf oil disaster is not over and that fundamental change is still needed to ensure such a disaster never occurs again.

Please Join Us!

TAKE ACTION
Support local actions in the Gulf Coast with the Gulf Restoration Network as they Declare: “The Oil is Still Here and So Are We!”
Take Action where you live TODAY with Act Against Extraction Day of Action April 20!

I’m still on tour! Please join me at a city near you, share my events with friends, and keep spreading the word.

Thank you.

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Global Exchange’s Energy Program Director Antonia Juhasz, who has a new book coming out called Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill made it into BP’s Shareholder meeting this past week and was able to speak on behalf of Gulf Coast residents, some of whom were denied entry themselves despite being legal proxy holders.

Below are clips of Antonia speaking at the BP shareholder meeting and her appearance on Democracy Now! speaking about the BP oil spill.

Antonia speaking in London during the BP Shareholder Meeting on Thursday April 14, 2011:

Antonia speaking on Democracy Now! about the BP oil disaster and the BP shareholder meeting:

Gulf Coast activists showed up at BP’s annual shareholder meeting in London today to speak out against the oil company that is responsible for what is known as the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Despite having proxies and all necessary credentials to attend the meeting, almost all of the Gulf Coast residents were denied entry.

One activist, Global Exchange’s Energy Program Director, Antonia Juhasz was one of the few that made it into the meeting and was able to speak on behalf of the Gulf Coast residents who have since had their lives destroyed since last year’s Deepwater Horizon explosion.

The most heated moment in today’s BP annual shareholder meeting occurred when Antonia Juhasz, took to the mic and confronted BP executives, Chairman of the Board Svanberg and the new CEO Bob Dudley about BP’s ongoing harmful actions in the Gulf, including the corporation’s lack of adherence to the moral, legal and financial obligations to the Gulf and its residents.

Antonia had a few words to share after the meeting:

I was shocked that BP denied residents from the Gulf of Mexico access today to their annual shareholder meeting in London. The residents and victims of the Gulf oil disaster were all legitimate proxy holders and had traveled at great cost to be there. They tried to deny my shareholder rights as well by only permitting me entrance as a guest, without the right to speak or vote. I spoke out anyway.

I demanded an immediate response to BP’s denying the voice of those that had traveled from the Gulf to tell the truth about what has really been happening to their health, livelihoods and home. I also demanded a response to the failure of the corporation to provide for the safety of its deep water operations and read a statement that Keith Jones, whose son, Gordon Jones, was killed when the Deepwater Horizon exploded, gave to me and asked me to read.

The Gulf Coast Fund, the organization that sponsored the residents’ travel to London released a statement of their own about the five Gulf residents that were denied entry. Tracy Kuhns, Director of Louisiana Bayoukeeper spoke out,

“We aren’t here to cause trouble. We came to deliver the message that BP needs to take responsibility for the drilling disaster. The oil is not gone… BP must be held accountable.”

Stay tuned to Global Exchange’s page on the BP Disaster for news updates about the shareholder meeting and Antonia Juhasz’ upcoming book, Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill, set to be released a few days before the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

In the meantime, you can see a clip of Antonia telling the BBC in front of the BP shareholder meeting that the ‘Gulf spill is not resolved’.

Coverage from The Independent:

“Protesters dragged from BP annual meeting,” April 14, 2011.

The Guardian:

“Protesters target BP annual meeting,” April 14, 2011.

More on the Energy Program site where you can also read statements by Gulf Coast residents intended to be shared with BP shareholders and executives.

Antonia Juhasz, Global Exchange’s Energy Program Director and author of the forthcoming book BLACK TIDE: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill is in London now through April 15 participating in the BP annual shareholder meeting.

She is joined by several Gulf Coast residents harmed by the spill. Together they are working with local and international organizations to raise awareness of the damage caused by BP in the Gulf and elsewhere, and taking on BP to hold the company accountable for its crimes in the Gulf.

BP’s annual shareholder meeting is on April 14th, and Antonia along with Gulf Coast residents who own shares are planning to attend the meeting.

Statements to BP’s Shareholders and Executives from residents of the Gulf whose lives have been forever changed by the disaster have been collected, and are being shared at the Annual Meeting.

Then it’s time for a 3 Week Book Tour!

On April 18, just four days later, BLACK TIDE: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill will be released in the U.S., two days before the one-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon and two more days before Earth Day (April 22).

So following the BP shareholder meeting, Antonia will return to the United States where she will begin a three week book tour taking her across the country.

BLACK TIDE is a searing look at the human face of BP’s disaster in the Gulf. Dramatic and compelling, this book is based on hundreds of personal interviews Antonia conducted during her time spent embedded within those communities most impacted by the disaster. 

For BLACK TIDE book launch event information, please visit the BLACK TIDE Facebook page or look for book tour dates the Black Tide Event Listings page.

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig — leased by BP and owned by Transocean — exploded off the coast of Louisiana, killing eleven men, and unleashing a 210 million gallon oil gusher. It became the largest oil disaster in American history, and it could happen again.

Today, we have learned that BP may renew drilling on ten different wells in the deepwaters of the Gulf of Mexico as early as this summer, and that Transocean’s executives were awarded millions of dollars in bonuses after what the company described as “the best year in safety performance in our company’s history.”

We believe that it is time for change.

To mark the one-year anniversary of the disaster, we will release Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill (Wiley), by Global Exchange Energy Program Director, Antonia Juhasz.

Black Tide is based on hundreds of personal interviews Antonia conducted during her time spent embedded within those communities most impacted by the disaster. It is a searing look at the human face of this tragedy.

Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine, says of Black Tide:

“These remarkable stories—of loss, heroism, and culpability—are a vivid reminder that this catastrophe will be with us for decades.”

The Black Tide book tour begins on April 9 in San Francisco. The next day, Antonia heads to London with Gulf Coast residents harmed by the disaster for BP’s annual shareholder meeting, before launching a national tour taking her across the U.S. and to a city near you.

The Global Exchange Energy Program is committed to exposing the true cost of our deadly oil addiction on real people, real communities, and real ecosystems at all points of oil’s operations as we work to promote the transition to renewable energy.

We hope you will join us and help us spread the word!

GET INVOLVED

This post was originally sent to members on our News and Action list. Be the first to take action with Global Exchange and sign up for our e-mail lists.

The first few weeks of 2011 have been a time of transitions. Aside from transitioning to a new year and a new decade, we have seen a transition of power in the US Congress. The new Republican majority in the House threatens to impede real progress with their refusal to cut defense spending, a push to repeal healthcare, and a call to shut down the Environmental Protection Agency.

Global Exchange is prepared to stand with you in opposition to these regressive moves. We will fight to stop rollbacks of progressive policies and continue to push for positive change in our communities at home and abroad. Through grassroots activism we will prevail.

Here are just a few campaigns we have in store for 2011:

  • Transition from corporate interests to humanitarian justice: Corporate interests are among the strongest forces fueling the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. Come February, Global Exchange will host courageous feminist peace activist Dalit Baum. Dalit is currently working in Israel on a project called Who Profits?, an online database that exposes companies and corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation. She will bring her extensive knowledge of grassroots activism to North America, teaching Who Profits’ research methods to the peace movement to infuse their work with new perspective and hard-earned wisdom. The long-term goal is to help change public opinion and corporate policies, moving towards an end to the occupation and a lasting peace in Israel/Palestine.
  • Transition from dirty energy to clean energy: The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest oil spill in American history, and oil from the spill continues to impact lives and livelihoods throughout the Gulf. Through this tragedy we have been reminded of the negative consequences of our dependence on dirty energy and our need to support clean alternatives for people and the planet. One year after the devastating Deepwater Horizon explosion, Global Exchange’s Energy Program Director, Antonia Juhasz, will release her book Black Tide, a “searing look at the human face of BP’s disaster in the Gulf and exposes the human failings and the human cost of man-made disaster that will be with us for a very long time.”
  • Transition from free trade to Fair Trade: Despite almost ten years of commitments from Hershey’s to take responsibility for their cocoa supply chains and improve conditions for workers, significant problems persist. Hershey’s lags behind its competitors when it comes to taking responsibility for the communities from which it sources cocoa, so we’re calling on them to “Raise the Bar” and go Fair Trade. This year, we’re working on several ways to get the word out about Fair Trade through various campaigns such as Sweet Smarts, National Valentine’s Day of Action, Reverse Trick-or-Treating, and more.
  • Transition from climate change to system change: After the Climate Talks in Cancun this past December, it was clear that Western leaders favored corporate-driven solutions for climate change over community-based solutions. Although the climate agreement that came out of Cancun ignored thecommunities directly affected by climate change and the rights of nature, Global Exchange continues to advocate for climate justice in the upcoming The Rights of Nature: The Case for a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Nature. The book, set to be released in April, will reveal a movement driving the cultural and legal shift that is necessary to transform our human relationship with nature away from being property-based and toward a rights-based model of balance that no longer views nature as property to be destroyed at will.
  • Transition from a greed economy to a green economy: Casino capitalism is wreaking havoc on the planet, but there is an alternative. It’s called local green economies – urban agriculture, locally controlled clean power, and sustainable industry — and we’re building them in Michigan, California and across the country. We’re also traveling from city to city sharing a message of a greener future at the Global Exchange co-sponsored Green Festivals – the biggest and best sustainability event in the country. Celebrating its 10th year, Green Festival will be expanding to the two biggest cities in the US — New York and Los Angeles.

You make this work possible. Thank you to everyone who gave a gift last year. We still need your support in 2011. None of our work is possible without the financial support of our members. Help us make the necessary, positive transition. Donate today!

Despite the new Republican leadership in the House, the grassroots movement has a great and important opportunity to be leaders in the fight for peace and social justice. We hope that you will join Global Exchange in 2011 to resist injustice, envision alternatives and take action.