Oil Spill Frustration: When All They Can Do Is Pray

GRAND ISLE, La., June 13, 2010 -- Frustrated by an inability to anything but sit and watch oil lap onto the shores of Grand Isle, a group of environmental enthusiasts, tourists and locals took to the empty beach Sunday to do the only thing they could think of to help -- they prayed.

They trickled down to the beach carrying parasols, Bibles and cases of bottled water, careful not to get too close to the line in the sand that, if breached, earned a swift reaction from local authorities and cleanup crews working to get the muck from the BP oil spill off the beaches.

"We just wanted to get people together," said Carrie Crockette, events coordinator for the Humane Society of Louisiana, which organized the late-afternoon prayer service. "We have so much frustration. People who want to help and they can't in any way."

Grand Isle, a thin, seven-mile stretch of land that juts out into Gulf of Mexico, would normally be packed with families and fishermen driving their golf carts and pickup trucks down Highway 1 in search of the next big catch.

But like much of the Louisiana coastline this summer, the darkly tanned men slinging fishing poles have been replaced by men in badges who carefully scrutinize anyone who tries to get too close to the often seemingly perfect beaches.

Crockette said she and others from the Humane Society, which is unaffiliated with the Humane Society of the United States, have been working with state and federal officials to get involved in the efforts to rescue and clean oiled birds and animals, but said they've found that permits can take up to three to six months to secure.