Category: BP Oil Crisis Wildlife Rehab

Gulf Coast Update–Day 1

Gulf Coast Update–Day 1

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It has been six weeks since I last visited the Gulf Coast. I have been documenting sensitive shore areas since May related to the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster. Today I visited two of the seven Gulf beaches I have been collecting images and video on over the summer. One beach was polluted and the other appeared much cleaner.

First, I visited Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. It was hit with a lot of oil and much of it sank just offshore. Monster dump trucks hauled tons of contaminated sand away and four track hoes dug into the tideline in an attempt to remove the oil that sank. Six weeks ago hundreds of blue crabs were gathered in the surf zone…behavior I’ve never seen before. Today, there were dead blue crabs in various states of decay washed up all over the beach.

There was a strong smell of crude oil on the beach and oily mousse was in the water. Sanderlings and other small birds were foraging for food in the oily mousse. There were not many birds on the shore there but some of the ones that were present exhibited strange behavior. Sanderlings allowed me to get very close to them (unusual) and many were laying down (unusual).

I cracked one of the dead crabs open and the inside was black. I’m making a guess here but I’m pretty sure it was oil. Last time I was at the Gulf I took underwater video of blue crabs. They were lethargic and not feisty like they usually are when approached. I saw none alive in the water today but many, many dead. The little shorebirds were eating the crabs, oil and all. I was saddened to think of how these toxins are spreading up the food chain. People ask me if I eat the seafood here…not any more. All you have to do is observe and do a little investigating to see that it’s just not a good idea to eat the wildlife coming out of the Gulf right now. It’s common sense.

My eyes were burning, my throat got raw, and I could taste the crude oil smell in the air blowing off of the Gulf. The waves were mixing in the oily mousse and I suppose some of the product was becoming air borne, although representatives from BP said that wasn’t possible. I could sure taste it today. As I stood there I thought how tired I was of smelling that nasty smell…then realized the birds and fish and other wildlife had been smelling or living in the toxic soup since May. I stopped my internal whining immediately.

My second stop was Gulf State Park Fishing Pier beach. A happy surprise was there was no crude oil smell, no oily mousse in the water and there were many birds along the shore. They even let me sit among them and take photographs and video. So they, too, allowed me to approach closer than usual. The air smelled only of salt and I breathed it in ravenously. I could taste only salt on my tongue at this beach. How wonderful.

This image is from the beach at the state park pier today. The next image is from the pier in July.

I was grateful that one area appears cleaner and healthier, although appearances can be deceiving. I saw no coquina shells in the surf zone or any kind of live shellfish along the shores today. This is an important food for many creatures so the outcome for wildlife is yet to be determined. Stay tuned for more.

The Picture Gets Clearer

The Picture Gets Clearer

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This morning came in with force and grabbed me by my tee shirt and shook me awake. Two things happened that really made me engage with the day. First, BP’s oil that magically disappeared is washing up at Gulf State Park pier again and second, Senator Burr’s office called me and we had a down-home chat about energy.

Oil is washing ashore again in Alabama in the form of the slimy crude. Not just tar balls (BP and Thad Allen said just this week tar balls were only in Louisiana–which is false…I documented them last week in every area I visited in Alabama–Ft. Morgan, Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, Gulf State Park and Romar Beach, and Florida–Gulf Islands National Seashore at Johnson Beach). Nope…the nasty, brown-water crude is coating beaches at Gulf State Park possibly due to the tropical storm in the Gulf churning things up. Perhaps nature is helping us by showing BP and our government that the oil really has NOT disappeared, evaporated, or magically been consumed by an oil-eating gulf spirit. And where is BP? Nowhere to be seen. Elvis has left the building folks!

A couple weeks ago I wrote Senator Richard Burr’s office stating my disappointment in the Senate not moving forward with an energy bill, even as watered-down as it was. Kyle, from Senator Burr’s office, called me this morning. He started reading his statement about how Senator Burr supports domestic production of energy. I interrupted Kyle and said, “Oh, you mean he supports oil and gas drilling.” Kyle replied that we have to wean ourselves off of foreign oil. I guess Senator Burr hasn’t studied the oil map of the world’s oil reserves. We don’t have the oil reserves/resources in the USA to come close to weaning (his word) us off our foreign oil need given our current consumption rate.

Our conversation progressed….Kyle continued by saying, “The cap and trade scheme…” WHOA Kyle…”Scheme?” I said. I didn’t realize it was a scheme. Then he got totally lost in his statement having not guessed that I’d answer the phone much less interrupt his well-practiced speech. After recovering he went on to say that the current “regime wanted to implement…” REGIME? Oh, so that’s the game…Senator Burr and his associates are indulging in word war in the media and with citizens by referring to our current Commander in Chief as leading a regime. I didn’t realize they were trying to promote the current administration as communist. Seriously?

I had about enough by then so I said, “Could we just stop with the political jargon and talk about the real issue? Our planet needs us to stop being polarized with politics. I am sick and tired of all politicians struggling for power and not even focusing on the issues at hand. Please tell Senator Burr that’s what I want him to hear from me.” Kyle referred me to Senate bill S. 3535 and said that’s Senator Burr’s answer to the regime’s scheme.

I researched S. 3535 and it has three major components. First, it gives a tremendous boost to natural gas production. Heard of hydraulic fracturing? The folks who have been victimized by Haliburton and others using this process might tell us a thing or two about what this very dangerous procedure does to the environment and to people. The second part of this bill pushes nuclear energy. Yes, it’s clean but who inherits the mess left behind by it? To me it’s just a short-term fix for energy that leaves our grandkids with a toxic environment. The third part of the bill addresses renewable energy to which it basically continues the tax credits already in place and calls for a DOR, EPA and DOT study (another government study???).

The energy picture is becoming clearer to me in two ways. First, the BP oil that magically disappeared never really went away….it sank. Thank goodness for citizens and scientists who know better than to believe BP and the government and to tropical storms and other forms of nature that divulge the truth. Second, we must stop deferring the messes we create to our grandchildren. NOW is the time to take responsibility for the way we use energy, how we can create a better way and leave a better world for our heirs. Do we want to be remembered as the generation that had an opportunity to make a difference and chose not to because it was too difficult?

Hope

Hope

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Today I visited the Theodore, Alabama, Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. For the first time since first coming back to Alabama to document the BP Oil Crisis in mid-May, I have hope.

I have witnessed so much disorganization with cleanup crews, local, state and federal governments and have left the beaches very frustrated and angry, not just at BP but at all the agencies involved. Today’s experience at the rehab facility was a breath of fresh air for me.

Under the guidance and direction of Dr. Heidi Stout, Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research director, the Theodore center is doing an amazing job of helping wildlife. FINALLY! Something related to this oil crisis is working. (Please clap out loud and dance). Along with staff from all over the country, Dr. Stout provides excellent care for oiled birds and other animals.

When a bird is captured, it is stabilized over a period lasting from 1 to 3 days. It is treated medically and monitored. Then the bird is cleaned and, depending on the bird’s size, cleaning can take 45 minutes (pelicans) to 10 minutes (gulls). They are cleaned in diluted Dawn in 104 to 105 degree water, their body temperature. They are thoroughly rinsed and kept for two weeks or so for monitoring and recovery.

The center has been open since early May and was fully prepared to receive wildlife prior to any known oilings in Alabama. So far they have treated 50 animals successfully. Dr. Stout and her staff give us hope that agencies can work together effectively and produce an organized, well-run program. Agencies involved in the center include the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. The center is funded by BP.

These northern gannets have been cleaned and are recovering nicely. Visiting this center gives me hope that we can come out on the other side of this disaster. Step by step, one bird at a time, we have hope.