A year after the BP oil spill -- the worst in U.S. history -- people along the Gulf of Mexico are still waiting for answers about how much damage was done, to their health, their livelihoods and the ecosystem around them. We ask if life on the Gulf Coast is ever getting back to normal.

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PART THREE

BP Oil Spill Anniversary - George Barisich

A year after the BP oil disaster, life on the Gulf Coast is still a long way from where it was. Eleven oil rig workers were killed in the blowout and nearly five million barrels of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. There is still widespread disagreement about the long-term consequences on the ecosystem, the marine life, local industry and the livelihoods of those living there.

This morning, we wanted to go back to the Gulf Coast to hear what life is like in the midst of so much uncertainty. We began with someone we heard from just as the magnitude of that spill was becoming apparent. George Barisich farms oyster and fishes shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico. He is the President of the United Commercial Fishermen's Association. He was in St. Bernard Parish, Louisana.

BP Oil Spill Anniversary - William Skellie

If you head east from Louisiana, about 30 kilometres down the Gulf Coast, you'll come to Long Beach, Mississippi ... a city that comes by its name honestly. William Skellie is the Mayor of Long Beach and he joins us from Long Beach, Mississippi.

BP Oil Spill Anniversary - Kathleen Warner

With so much attention being devoted to the environmental and economic consequences of the oil spill, it would be easy to lose sight of the mental health needs of some of those affected.

Kathleen Warner says that would be a huge mistake. She's the Head of Client Services at the Saint Bernard Project, a not-for-profit group that started helping the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and is now helping people affected by the oil spill. Kathleen Warner was in Chalmette, Louisiana.

Related Links:

• Shrimpers will test area waters starting Monday By John DeSantis - Daily Comet
• BP Oil Disaster at One Year: Grasping the Regional Economic Impacts -
  Natural Resources Defense Council
• One year later: a coated coastline By Matthew Tresaugue - Houston Chronicle
• Stress and Anger over BP Oil Disaster Could Linger for Decades by Dahr Jamail - InterPress Service

Last Word - Rabbi Simes

We ended the program today with a preview of a documentary by The Current's Howard Goldenthal. Rabbi Yehuda Simes is one of the most popular teachers at the Hillel Academy, a Jewish school in Ottawa. Last June, he was paralyzed in a car accident, so this Passover, the story of Exodus has a special meaning for Rabbi Simes and his family. We'll have the full documentary, The Unfinished Journey of Rabbi Simes on tomorrow's program.

Other segments from today's show:

• Supreme Courts Justices
• Kenneth Feinberg: BP Fund Adminstrator