Dauphin, Dolphins, & Grand Isle

On Wednesday, I completed the volunteer training with COAST (Coalition of Active Stakeholders Team). Essentially, COAST is comprised of Alabama Coastal Foundation, Mobile Baykeeper, the U.S. Coast Guard, BP, and the State of Alabama. The Volunteer Field Observer (VFOB) program is a brand new effort to coordinate and document the effects of the oil spill, the clean up process, and also record other pertinent ecological data. Thousands of fellow Americans have expressed a desire to help or volunteer in some way, and this is the first program of its kind. Hopefully, other states will use this format to allow the good people of this country to get involved and have a voice in how the clean up process is being conducted.

A dear friend of mine said recently, "Truth is the best disinfectant." Part of the reason I wanted to volunteer in the VFOB program with Mobile Baykeeper was because I wanted to see with my own eyes what is being done by BP, the local authorities, and the U.S. government to mitigate the damage. Selfishly, as an outsider to the area, I felt this would give me some direction as to where I might go to see the worst of it. I was not wrong, as having the local contacts and designated areas on which to report kept me from being on a wild goose chase, and also satisfied my urge to truly help. At this point, I'd like to make it perfectly clear that I was stopped on many occasions by BP and by local authorities from accessing public beach areas and even State Park areas. The images reported in your local paper are what BP has allowed to be published.



Local Accounts

During my stay, I tried to speak with as many local residents as I possibly could, from local business owners to commercial fisherman. A resident personal trainer (and avid surfer) told me that he was experiencing health issues (persistent sore throat and respiratory problems) and had not been in the water since May 15th. He told me that his friends who were fishermen warned him to stay out of the water.

A local fisherman informed me that the dispersant (Corexit) actually makes it more difficult for them to skim the oil out of the ocean because is makes the crude sink below the surface. Corexit breaks the oil up into those fun little tar balls and patties that are now entering Lake Pontchartrain (supporting the theory that had the oil been left alone, it would be easier to collect, and also would not have floated under the booms designed to keep the oil out). I wonder, does the POTUSA (President of the United States of America) ever watch YouTube or read blogs? Is anyone in charge listening to the soldiers on the front lines? On a side note, no toxicity studies have been conducted on Corexit (check out number 11 on the MSDS sheet). According to the EPA, BP has put more Corexit into the GOM than has ever before been used (one estimate puts it at 700,000 gallons). The (spineless & toothless) EPA warned BP back in May to cut back on this killer chemical, but BP esentially said, "sorry, we have a bad connection out here...can't hear you". You can read the communiques between BP and the EPA here. Most dispersants contain a chemical that can cause endocrine disruption, which can lead to fetal defects and can impair reproduction in both humans and aquatic life. One more time, can impair reproduction in humans and aquatic life. All of this makes me ask the question, "why wasn't this testing done a long time ago on these products?" Also important to note is that the current test data submitted by the chemical manufacturers does not include how the chemical reacts with Louisiana Sweet Crude. So, we still don't really have any data that can assure us Corexit is safe, and not causing harm to us or the ecosystem in the GOM. What is the truth? You can contact your representatives and President Obama and ask them to ramp up pressure on both the EPA and BP to cut back on Corexit until more is known. Do it for your love of Louisiana seafood if nothing else!

Dauphin Island

On Thursday, I took the car ferry from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island, where I met up with Mary Myers, another volunteer for Mobile Baykeeper. Mary and I walked the beach in front of the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. The beach had recently been cleaned, and we were both relieved to see that the clean up crews had (for once) done what appeared to be a thorough job. We were disappointed to see the appearance of oil in a marshland leading from Dauphin Surf Club to the beach. Needless to say, encroachment into the wetlands is worse case scenario.

Grand Isle, Louisiana

I finally had to leave the Gulf Shores on Friday, and head for Louisiana. On Thursday night, I stopped at Mudbugs Pub & Club, where I had a few drinks with some locals. On a tip from a BP employee, I decided to drive to Grand Isle to see, as he put it, "the dead sea". The drive to Grand Isle is an interesting one. Damage of Katrina is still evident, along with many interesting signs posted by locals advertising their dislike for BP. When I pulled into a beach access area, the presence of military vehicles was a bit surprising to me. I walked up the dune and what I saw took my breath away. As far as the eye could see, the beach had been lined with orange plastic fencing, large "Tiger Boom", and sand berms that were clearly man-made. It looked like a war zone, or at the least something out of a science fiction movie. I scrambled over the boom to get a closer look at the oil stained beach. I could see oil sheen in the water everywhere. Pools of red sweet crude were present, along with multiple tar balls. A lone Osprey stood at the edge of the water, there were no shore birds present. Not one. I'm not a birding expert, but I saw shore birds every where in the Gulf Shores, even on the worst beaches. Before I knew it, an official from BP had pulled up behind me on his gator. "Ma'am, you need to come out of there now," he said. "Sure," I replied, "just lookin' around." "If you don't come out immediately, we'll have to take you to Decon," he stated. "Decon?" "Decontamination, it's run by the Alabama State Police, it'll take you four hours at the minimum. This is a 'hot zone', we are still cleaning it up, " he barked. "OK, hey, I don't want any trouble, just taking some photos, and I'm just curious what you all are doing here," I said in my nicest, conciliatory voice. "If you want, you can sign up for a BP guided tour at the Grand Isle community center," he told me. Unfortunately, it was already past 6 pm, and the community center was closed. From there, I drove to Grand Isle State Park, where I was able to see the clean up crews collecting their Friday paychecks. I walked out on the elevated boardwalk and looked up the deserted beach. A lone dolphin was swimming in the shallow water, the rainbow reflection of oil sheen shimmered around him as the sun began to slip into the western sky.

Peace.