By Naomi Klein

Reprinted from The Guardian

Obama cannot order pelicans not to die (no matter whose ass he kicks). And no amount of money not BP's $20bn, not $100bn can replace aculture that's lost its roots.' flickr image by kbaird

Everyone gathered for the town hall meeting had been repeatedly instructed to show civility to the gentlemen from BP and the federal government. These fine folks had made time in their busy schedules to come to a high school gymnasium on a Tuesday night in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, one of many coastal communities where brown poison was slithering through the marshes, part of what has come to be described as the largest environmental disaster in US history.