VANISHING EARTH

Jonathan Henderson is organizing this fundraiser.

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Jonathan Henderson's VANISHING EARTH, advocacy + consulting + photography

Friends, I am embarking on a new journey in my life, and I am asking for your support. The time has come to expand upon all my years of environmental work experience and passion. With your generous investment in our future, I will launch VANISHING EARTH, advocacy + consulting + photography, advancing the fight for a clean environment.

After witnessing the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, I began pursuing my life's calling-fighting for a healthy environment. Earning my MBA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and graduation from Southern University Law Center was followed with a brief stint in Public Relations before joining the Gulf Restoration Network . By air, sea, and land, for years I have been, and continue documenting the rapidly disappearing coastal wetlands, barrier islands, and coastal communities across the northern Gulf of Mexico, especially in Louisiana. This documentation process is far more than just a way of preserving the memory of communities that are simply washing away and vanishing: I have developed and honed my special talents for finding, documenting, and reporting pollution incidents in remote areas of the Gulf coast, like leaks from oil production platforms, wellheads, and pipeline ruptures, as well as illegal coal and petroleum coke discharges from coal export terminals on the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. To date, I have successfully located, documented, and filed approximately 100 formal Incident Reports with the National Response Center , which have assisted agencies like the United States Coast Guard in investigating and stopping leaks. In 2010, literally knee-deep in the BP disaster, I spent countless days at great personal health risk ground-truthing what was REALLY happening to our beloved Gulf region. Just days after the Deepwater Horizon sank, I flew over it taking pictures and video, followed by countless dozens of trips documenting the BP disaster impacts with thousands of photos and video clips and continued to do so even after the well was capped. You can say I learned how to do all of this "on the fly." But our work, our vigilance and our mission is far from over. YOUR SUPPORT FOR VANISHING EARTH WILL ALLOW THIS IMPORTANT WORK AND MORE TO CONTINUE, NOW AND IN THE YEARS TO COME.

I have had the privilege to learn from some of the world's most renowned scientists, photographers, filmmakers, writers and advocates. My work over the last few years has appeared in countless international , national, and local media stories, as well as numerous documentaries, artistic productions, and books. VANISHING EARTH will continue providing interviews, photos, video, oil samples, and guidance. (Below are a few links to just some of the media stories and productions that I have contributed to, as well as a few photos of my work in the field.)

Your investment in our future will provide the seed money, tools, and resources needed to launch this new endeavor. Through VANISHING EARTH, we will be able to generate revenue through the sale of some of our beautiful and compelling aerial images such as vanishing wetlands, Pelican rookeries, barrier islands, and oil leaks. The market for these works exists: various galleries both in the U.S. and abroad are interested in having us exhibit our images. In fact, I have been given an exciting initial opportunity to showcase my work at a very high profile event and venue, (the annual ANBA DLO Festival at the New Orleans Healing Center) on October 17th of this year in New Orleans. However, YOUR INVESTMENT IS NEEDED NOW to purchase the supplies necessary to see this and other important projects through. With additional revenue generated through environmental consulting contracts and grants, books and documentary films, VANISHING EARTH will be able to operate as an essential source for media and assist with the production of compelling stories about environmental issues as well as continue to provide guided tours by air and sea. Your support will help me continue to be an unyielding and fierce advocate for our environment. Please invest today, and please share my campaign with others.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Henderson, JD, MBA

A Sampling of Photos: