Is oil from the BP disaster in the Gulf headed your way? According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) the spill "might soon extend along thousands of miles of the Atlantic coast and open ocean as early as this summer." Watch this video to see how your local beach might be affected.

AP Photographer Charlie Riedel just filed the following images of seabirds caught in the oil slick on a beach on Louisiana's East Grand Terre Island. As BP engineers continue their efforts to cap the underwater flow of oil, landfall is becoming more frequent, and the effects more evident.

Once in a while, like now, we see the downsides to our dependency on [fossil fuels], in this case the ecological degradation of increasing areas of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystems, and collateral damage to other species. These negative 'externalities' to oils procurement remain outside of our market system, and although they tug at our emotions, are not formally part of our institutional decision-making framework. This brief Campfire post is about how we value things that are priceless, in a system that forces us to put prices on most everything.

Has the mainstream media in the US replaced serious coverage with "junk news" and tabloidism? Especially in foreign affairs, are Americans less informed than ever? Who is shaping their perceptions of the rest of the world?

Since a devastating earthquake rocked Haiti on Tuesday -- killing tens of thousands of people -- there's been a lot of well-intentioned chatter and twitter about how to help Haiti. [...] I hope these donations continue to pour in, along with more money, food, water, medicine, equipment and doctors and nurses from nations around the world. [...] But it's also time to stop having a conversation about charity and start having a conversation about justice -- about recovery, responsibility and fairness. What the world should be pondering instead is: What is Haiti owed? Haiti's vulnerability to natural disasters, its food shortages, poverty, deforestation and lack of infrastructure, are not accidental.

A disturbing decline in global liberty prompts some hard thinking about what is needed for democracy to prevail.

America's big banks are back on top. Just a year after their financial gambles brought the American economy to the brink of collapse, requiring a massive federal bailout, they're back in the black and paying themselves healthy bonuses. With so many Americans facing economic hardship, the banks' good fortunes have led to resentment and even some rage among those outside the financial industry. Yet, according to Washington watchers -- and sheer dollars spent -- the banking industry lobby remains among the most powerful in the nation's capital.

When the bailout trillions run out, Wall Street's maladjusted gamblers will come back for more until our currency becomes junk. Not that any of these people, who exhibit the same traits as psychopaths, have thought this through.

Ditch the dog; throw away (sorry, recycle) those takeaway menus; bin bottled water; get rid of that gas-guzzling car and forget flying to far-flung places. These are just some of the sacrifices we in the West will need to make if we are to survive climate change.

The Angry Mermaid Award has been set up to recognise the perverse role of corporate lobbyists, and highlight those business groups and companies that have made the greatest effort to sabotage the [Copenhagen] climate talks, and other climate measures, while promoting, often profitable, false solutions.

Renowned historian Howard Zinn has chronicled centuries of people's struggles against oppression. He joins Bill Moyers to discuss the voices of today's people -- facing big interests' outsized influence -- and his new film The People Speak.

Since 2003, over 50,000 [U.S. citizens] have shared life stories with family and friends through StoryCorps. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, and millions listen to our broadcasts on public radio and the web.

Chevron's 2008 annual report is a glossy celebration of the company's most profitable year in its history. What Chevron's annual report does not tell its shareholders is the true cost paid for those financial returns, or the global movement gaining voice and strength against Chevron's abuses.

If the Copenhagen climate conference were an episode of the popular children's show "Sesame Street," one might imagine the following announcement at its conclusion: "This show was brought to you by letter F" -- F for farce, failure, fiasco.