Category: Gulf Oil Spill

Caught in an Unholy War

Caught in an Unholy War

By |

As I was walking along the shore at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, I saw a layer of oil exposed from the incoming tide. I was photographing it when one of the four-wheelers stopped and the guy started calling out to me. Because of the wind I couldn’t hear him so I walked over to hear what he was saying.

He told me he was a supervisor from Crowder, the current BP contractor corporation providing clean-up on the Alabama Gulf Coast. Just today, he said, he found that particular layer of oil at the water’s edge. He had marked it with flags and had shown his crew, who he related wanted to immediately scoop it off the beach. As he was telling me about everything he and the contractors were doing to make the beach better, he stopped talking for a moment, looked down the beach and said, “Those wildlife officers are watching us.” “So what?” I replied. He went on to tell me that the wildlife officers employed by the US Fish and Wildlife agency did not particularly like the contractors. “Oh,” I pondered out loud.

As the contractor was driving off, I looked up and saw the most amazing clouds over the dunes. Like a magnet, they drew me in. While avoiding sea oats, I walked to the base of the dune and took a few photographs. I turned and walked back toward shore and the wildlife officers were wheeling toward me. In a friendly wave, I greeted them.

I had missed the signs professing the area was closed. Maybe it was the rapture of beautiful clouds or my foggy brain still in recovery from food poisoning Sunday night, regardless I was approached by both armed officers who asked if I had seen the signs. The signs are spaced at 100++ foot intervals along the dune line and I had wandered between two signs, no more than 20 feet into the ‘closed’ area.

Okay, of all the people who visit the refuge I’m the last person who would do anything to harm the environment or wildlife there. I’ve walked through 100 degree temperatures for miles through the center of the refuge to get images and video of the heavy machines hauling the beach away during the invasion of the oil. I’ve written passionately about wildlife and wild places and included my work from the oil spill in my recently published book, Place of Spirit. Not intending to do any harm but rather capture the beauty of this place was no excuse. I had entered the NO NO zone. But seriously. Not a warning or verbal reprimand? I wasn’t on the dune, was careful about where I stepped and had barely entered closed area.

When I explained all of this to the officers they said they had a lot of trouble with the contractors and so had to be very strict about anyone crossing the (invisible) line. Oh….so I was being made an example of for the contractors. And it worked. As the officer was writing me a ticket, a tractor driver came up and the officer stepped out of the way…INTO THE FORBIDDEN ZONE. I made a comment about being careful not to step into the closed area, with humor, and he realized he also was in the no trespassing area and so stepped back out of it while continuing to write the ticket…the $75 ticket.

As I walked back to my car I knew that in ‘normal’ times I would have received a verbal warning, not a ticket. I have no issue paying the fine. Each of those 20 feet cost me $3.75, a small price to pay for realizing just how stressed relations are between people trying to protect the environment and those who work for people who nearly annihilated the environment on the Gulf Coast. It seems that wildlife officers have it ‘in’ for contractors, some of whom are careless. And people like me, who adore nature and work diligently to document and share the seriousness of this on-going oil spill event (paying our own expenses) get caught in the middle of some unholy war between the good guys and those who work for the bad guys.

The contract workers are not the enemy Mr. Wildlife Officers (please tell your bosses). Neither are nature-lovers enraptured by beautiful clouds.

Deep Cleaning (?) the Gulf Beaches–December 6 Update

Deep Cleaning (?) the Gulf Beaches–December 6 Update

By |

The assault of noise and clamor on the winter-quiet beach was overwhelming as I stood at the water’s edge and witnessed the ‘deep cleaning’ of a beach near Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The process involves a super-sifter machine that is fed ‘soiled’ sand, shifts the sand, spits out tar balls or any firm object and then spits out cleaner sand. The sheer number of bulldozers, monster dump trucks, front-end loaders, and track hoes was mind-boggling. Endless beeping and buzzing of machines and diesel engines grinding through sand was at the very least disturbing to the senses.

But what was more disturbing was the tar balls washing up at my feet. I looked out over the Gulf and thought of the bottom that seems to hold an endless supply of tar balls ranging in size from pin-head to fist-sized. All it will take is one winter storm over-washing the beach or a hurricane next summer to completely coat these beaches they are spending millions of dollars to clean. I shook my head in disbelief, in disgust. Once again folks are concerned with appearance, not a long-term solution to the problem.

From the beginning of this disaster, the intention was to sink the oil–to hide it. Now that the dispersant worked and much of the oil lays coating the bottom (reference the shrimper last month who brought up nets coated in oil….this guy is being ‘forced’ to pay for cleaning up the oily mess on his boat, nets, etc). Shrimpers drag the bottom to harvest shrimp so when this Bon Secour shrimper ‘struck oil’ and shrimp, it was finally proof to those of us who have suspected that the oil is coating the Gulf bottom. So why aren’t we spending the millions of dollars used in deep cleaning the beaches to get the oil off the bottom of the Gulf? Do the people making decisions to clean the beaches not realize that by next summer they will likely be coated again due to off-shore oil that will come ashore with high tides and waves that are typical of winter on the Gulf Coast?
*************
And at another end of the island, the sand is brown with tar balls uncovered by the strong wind blowing from the northwest. As this mighty wind slams into the point at Fort Morgan beach, the top layer of sand is blown off revealing a beach completely covered in tar balls.

After walking on the bay side and rounding the point, I witnessed workers hand-sifting sand on the Gulf side of the point. I think this is perhaps the best way to clean the beaches. It is certainly less invasive and less destructive to the coast. And it is less invasive and disturbing to wildlife. But that’s just my opinion. I tend to favor less destructive and invasive procedures, especially when it comes to environmental impact and impact on wildlife.

I don’t claim to have all the answers and I understand public officials wanting to give the appearance that deep-cleaning the beaches will make them ‘safe’ for tourists. But they are completely missing the point when it comes to long-term solutions of issues the Gulf of Mexico is facing. We need to stop using only bandaids and really work on a solution that truly removes the mess created by BP.

Letting Go

Letting Go

By |

I realized today that I have been attached to people ‘getting’ the seriousness of the situation at the Gulf. Of understanding that all is NOT well there and the seafood is tainted with oil. I have invested a lot of energy into hoping…praying…that there would be an awakening that would positively affect not only the Gulf Coast, but the entire planet. The more I see attention-deficit mainstream media move on to other adreneline-pumping stories and leave the hard road of environmental and economic recovery of this area behind, the more stressed I become. Why? Because I have been attached to an outcome.

In my attachment, and the resulting anger that collectively people are just not getting it, I was missing the real reason for my monthly visits to the Gulf Coast–to minister to the wildlife and environment by telling the story. When I had that ‘ah-ha’ moment today, it felt like a weight lifted from my shoulders and I relaxed and refocused my attention–my INTENTION.

I let go today. I cannot force anyone to listen, pay attention, stop eating contaminated seafood, stop swimming in contaminated water or to slow down and really observe what is happening on the beaches, under the water, to the plants. By letting go I have more energy to devote to what I feel called to do: Document what I see, hear, smell, taste and feel when I am at the Gulf Coast. By telling the story, those willing to listen will have honest, truthful information.

Before the oil came ashore in Alabama, I made a promise to this Ghost Crab. After warning it to leave the beach and head for safer territory in the dunes, it helped me see that its loss of life could be a teaching–that all lives lost due to this disaster could be a teaching, a reminder, that our greed and misuse of resources is out of control. So in memory of this little teacher, I recommit to telling the story and let go of things and people I have no control over. Feels like a good step.

Science VS Common Sense

Science VS Common Sense

By |

The only thing that calmed me this morning was envisioning a beautiful rose, deep red and full of delightful scent. I imagined the smell and saw it blossoming in my heart. The anger and frustration over BP and the government’s ‘head-in-the-sand’ approach to the oil spill has troubled me greatly and an article I read this morning lit my fuse.

The article was published by the New York Times November 5th. The quote that made me stomp around my kitchen taking deep breaths was this: “The discovery of the dead corals offers the strongest evidence so far that oil from the BP well may have harmed marine life in the deep ocean.” This statement was made by Dr. Charles Fisher of NOAA, the governmental agency that has reopened almost the entire Gulf of Mexico to seafood harvesting. I know, I know…their samples show minimal amounts of dispersants and oil in seafood. But how is it that I can walk on the beach and find dead crabs with blackened lungs (gills)? Of course, I’m not taking them to a lab for testing but they sure look different than the crabs we caught and cooked when I was growing up on the Gulf Coast. In those days the crabs had creamy-white gills. I’m no scientist but unless crabs have taken to cigar smoking, something is amiss. Maybe they are not sampling in the “right” places. And YEAH! they are finally admitting that the oil spill may have harmed marine life in the deep ocean, but really? I mean…is this NEWS to anyone? That they are admitting it…okay, THAT is newsworthy!

I observed Portuguese Man-O-Wars washed up with suspicious-looking grayish-black specks in them. OIL? If not, they have certainly changed their coloring by some miracle of nature. But again, I’m only a woman with a camera and a keen curiosity and love of nature, not a scientist.

And I know the sea gulls and shore birds I’ve observed in the past week have excessive leg and foot injuries and I thought maybe, just maybe, it could be from the oil they walked through this summer. And pardon my leap to suggest a Willet I saw puking on the beach, whose vomit was full of broken pieces of shells and mucus, was suffering from some illness or maybe hunger because there is no food (live shells) for him to eat. Once again, I’m not sampling the vomit or don’t have a way to ask the birds if their foot and leg injuries came from the oil. “Excuse me, when did you start having symptoms of your foot falling off?” But is it such a leap to wonder if the oil is the cause?

I totally understand that we must have hard evidence–scientific evidence–to draw conclusions. I know that hard science proves the connection from the BP Oil gusher to dead marine life. But where is the common sense of scientists? Are they so programmed to believe only what they can prove that they lose their ability to use common sense?

If there is a toxic substance, let’s just say 5 million barrels (55 gallons in a barrel). Added to it was another toxic substance….maybe 2 million gallons of it… that causes toxic substance #1 to be readily absorbed by marine organisms. Mix it all up in salt water and what do YOU think will happen? Without your high school or college biology knowledge, without knowledge of chemistry. WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN? Do you think things that live in this mixture will be negatively affected by it?

It seems as if those of us still concerned about the Gulf–wildlife, plant life, human life–keep hitting walls of bureaucratic reasoning that border on nonsensical. Really NOAA, the oil did NOT disappear magically. You allowed it to be dispersed…it sank and now…oops! It’s still there. And finally…FINALLY…your own scientists think that maybe a reef seven miles southwest of the blown oil well might indeed have been killed by the oil–no, no…the oil may have “harmed marine life.” I am not sure why Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator, started supporting the idea that perhaps the oil may have harmed marine life (she was the one that said the majority of the oil was gone) but whatever the reason, at least there IS reason starting to percolate in government scientists.

Please forgive the obvious unrestrained assault on the governmental scientific community. But after listening to EPA and USDA scientists at a meeting in Mobile, Alabama, in June contradict their own statements about whether dispersant use was safe, after knowing the government supported BP’s use of toxic chemicals banned in the UK (dispersant), after watching Jane Lubchenco say the oil was nearly gone (and independent scientists saying NO, it’s not), after finding evidence of oil in crabs and jellyfish, on marine life, seeing oil STILL washing up on the beaches of Alabama (as of Oct 27th), and personally experiencing airborne oil during high winds and surf on the Alabama Gulf Coast….I don’t feel anything but disbelief and frustration that our NOAA government agency is: 1) Stupid enough to believe the rest of us are stupid; or 2) Just really stupid themselves.

Can’t you be a scientist and have common sense?

Steps to staying healthy while visiting the Gulf Coast beaches:
1. Don’t dig in the sand.
2. Don’t wade in water that is bubbling with light-brown froth (this includes swimming)
3. Don’t eat fish, crabs, shrimp, oysters. PLEASE, for your own safety, wait a year or two. I really believe there is danger…I’ve seen it first hand.
4. If there is high wind and surf, blowing from the south, do not go onto the beaches. The oil is airborne. I saw it, I felt it, I rubbed oil off of sea oats the last week of October.
5. Don’t go barefoot on the sand.
6. Don’t trust the local officials as they turned their heads to beach-goers who were swimming in highly contaminated oily waters–I have video and photographs from the summer. The local officials want tourists to think it is safe so they will keep coming to the beaches.

I want my home state and other coastal states to have successful businesses. I want there to be prosperity. But not at the expense of your health, or the health of those you love. Be observant, educate yourself fully, and know the risks.

October Gulf Coast Summary

October Gulf Coast Summary

By |

The main point I wish to make from my observations here on the Alabama Gulf Coast this past week is this: We must continue to closely observe the wildlife as they are telling the true story of what is happening to the ecosystems here.

On Monday, October 25th, I observed coquina shells in a few small groups near Gulf State Park pier. When I returned on Saturday, October 30th, there were none to be seen.

I observed a willet regurgitate his stomach contents. Upon investigation of the contents of his stomach, there was nothing but pieces of broken shells and mucus. I then saw him eating empty shells in the surf zone. Is he eating shells just to feel full? I observed nothing alive in the surf zone once again. This is a telling part of the ecosystem.

I saw several dead blue crabs again. I opened one up and it had dark grey-black lungs (gills). I saw hundreds sick in the surf zone in August and many, many dead and full of oil on the beach at the wildlife refuge in September.

Tar balls are still very prevalent in the surf zone and this is to be expected for many years to come.

As I reported in my blog from Oct 30th, the gulls are showing evidence of severe foot and leg issues ranging from webbing being eaten away, joint issues, growths on ankles and feet, and legs being withered from the knee down. This is more than one or two birds. They walked in the oil when it washed up on the beach, now they have foot and leg damage. Makes sense to me.

While the water looked much better toward the end of the week, after the high winds and rough seas subsided, there are still dark areas off shore. This one happens to be just offshore from where a very nasty, deep layer of oil washed ashore in Gulf State Park this summer. The theory is that there are sunken patches in shallow water that become stirred up when there is high surf. Thus, the oil became windblown like a few days ago when the entire surface of the sand was light brown and the sea oats had a slick coating of oil particles on them.

What a beautiful day yesterday. The water appeared clear, the sky was beautiful. No oily salt spray was blowing across the beach so I felt a bit more at ease with each inhalation. I understand that people are weary of hearing reports from the Gulf and weary still of ‘bad’ news. Everybody wants to feel good. And let’s face it, hearing more concerns about the environment do not contribute to happy feelings; however, this is not the time to forget or become complacent. And the Gulf is only one part of the global environmental challenge.

In my first video on the spill I said this: You may ask how the Gulf of Mexico oil spill affects you. I say, how does it NOT affect you? That statement still rings true.

No matter where you live, know that many corporations will do whatever they can to turn a profit. They will sacrifice oceans, wildlife, human life…it doesn’t matter. They are only concerned about their bottom line being hefty and black. Educate yourself. Learn what is going on, not only in the Gulf of Mexico, but in your own community.

The only way the world will change is by more people caring and becoming stewards of the earth. Let us walk gently on this beautiful water planet.