By Eileen Fleming
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wwno/local-wwno-908745.mp3
New Orleans, La. – Landrieu took the mayors from cities throughout the country on a boat tour of clean-up operations in marsh areas fouled by oil.
"It appears as though we've turned the corner. BP and the Coast Guard were working very well together. There were 200 vessels that were working in Barataria Bay skimming oil, keeping it from the shores. However, we have a very, very long way to go."
Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider says the Gulf oil spill will expand support for alternative energy, as the 1969 offshore spill in her city sparked the environmental movement in California.
"I think we've had a national conversation. I think it'll broaden it from the California coast to throughout the nation."
Before the mayors sat down for a seafood lunch, they promised to pressure federal lawmakers to support Landrieu's call for Louisiana getting a bigger share of oil revenue to help the Gulf region recover.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.