The oil spill in the Gulf is many times worse than the Exxon Valdez disaster off the coast of Alaska. Peak summer travel season is nearing, and popular tourist destinations along the Gulf of Mexico are right to worry; people are canceling hotel reservations in Alabama, Mississippi, and even along Florida's as-yet unaffected Gulf Coast. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) hosted a phone-based news conference on May 26, 2010, in which the effects of the oil well blow out on travel and tourism, along with - obviously - on the fragile wetlands ecosystems, were delineated and updated.
The NRCD/RMCO Report on Special Places at Risk in the Gulf of Mexico
The NRDC identified 15 special places especially at risk from the British Petroleum (BP) oil contamination. The places are home to threatened species such as sea turtles, manatees, whooping cranes, and bottlenose dolphins. Those places in danger are:
- Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
- Pass a Loutre Wildlife Management Area, Louisiana
- Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
- Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
- Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi and Florida
- Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Mississippi and Alabama
- Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, Alabama
- St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida
- Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida
- Everglades National Park, Florida
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Florida
- Key West National Wildlife Refuge, Florida
- Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
- Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
- Padre Island National Seashore, Texas
Stephen Saunders (President, RMCO), said that these places include the "best examples of the full range of both the protected public areas and the resources within them that are vulnerable to contamination by the BP disaster. Because the potential reach of this catastrophe is so broad, our list certainly cannot include more than a tiny fraction of what is at stake as oil continues to...spread around the Gulf."
Phone Based news Conference Details
This news conference meant to raise awareness of the continuing and increasingly worrisome effects the BP well blow out and oil spill is having on marine habitats, their animal populations and local economies. Captain Louis Skrmetta of Gulfport, Mississippi, is the CEO of Ship Island excursions. This is the official passenger ferry service for the National Park Service and Gulf Islands National Seashore in Mississippi. He described how Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour, is downplaying the effects of the oil spill, comparing it to the gasoline sheen often found around motorboats. Skrmetta believes that the worst is yet to come, as the oil slick is riding ocean currents.
Enid Sisskin, PhD, is a board member of the Gulf Coast Environmental Defense, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and the Florida Conservation Alliance, describes how the miles of wetlands that support marine life and local economies are at risk due to this spill. "This disaster will affect our environment and economy for many years to come," said Sisskin.
Sisskin and Skrmetta, along with the NRDC policy experts, hoped that the BP well blow out and as-yet-unseen dire results could galvanize North Americans to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and work towards making clean energy preferable, easy and affordable.
What We Can Do
Julie Wraithmell, Florida Audubon's Wildlife Policy Coordinator, explained that Florida's coast has yet to be directly affected by the BP oil spill, although it's an inevitability. In a follow up call with this column, she discussed how there are certain volunteering opportunities open to travelers. Ground-nesting birds, in particular, need extra protection to ensure the species' survival in areas unaffected by the BP oil spill, because their relatives in Alabama and Louisiana will almost assuredly have a very poor breeding year. The Audubon Society in Florida encourages residents and people traveling to the Florida coast to train to be "bird stewards." Stewardship in Florida helps the overall bird species recover from the population devastation that will occur along the Gulf's estuaries and wetlands.
All participants on the news conference phone call agreed that tourism-based economies in Florida are being unduly affected, as many travelers are canceling hotel reservations. However, at the time of this news conference, these cancellations seem premature. During this column's follow up call with Wraithmell, she strongly encouraged travel planners to consider vacations along Florida's coast, as the local economy will otherwise suffer. The volunteering opportunities there (including those at the aforementioned Audubon) will be more easily found as the ongoing situation begins to resolve.
British Petroleum has, at this point, grossly mismanaged the blow out and resulting oil spill. North Americans can be active participants in change, though: Don't cancel vacations in Florida (yet). Consider volunteering, but find organizations set up to manage volunteering efforts. Urge politicians to create more oversight of Big Oil companies that have proven themselves to be unworthy of self-regulation. And above all, consider reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Jennifer W. Miner - Jennifer has years of travel writing experience, spoken at several national conferences, and more. See Jendeavor.com for more details.
