Posted May 11, 2010
I came across this video today, narrated by an environmental investigator in Alabama named John Wathen:
At mile 87, ground zero. My first view of the sight was one of tremendous impact. I’ll never forget the scene. These are not small boats. While standing at a dock looking at them, they look like large ships. They’re dwarfed in comparison to what I see on the horizon. Nothing but a red mass of floating goo – that could have been prevented, and should have been prevented…
We counted thirty boats in the pictures, floating around while this stuff makes it way toward shore. Nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. For the first time in my environmental career, I find myself using the word “Hopeless.” We can’t stop this. There is no way to prevent this from hitting our shorelines…
This is not only an environmental disaster, but a social disaster as well. Fishermen out of work. Oyster shuckers… no work. People working the docks… all up and down the coast, people are canceling reservations. Fishing boats are not going out. The economic impact of this event will be incredible and felt for decades to come. No one knows if the fishing will ever recover; no one knows if the Gulf will ever heal from this. One thing for certain – we must learn from the mistakes that have been made here. This can not happen again…