Oil on Beaches in Alabama

Off for my second trip. Spent this am on Pine Beach in Bon Secour NWR. Tar balls as far as the eye could see. On the beach, floating in the surf. Some very fresh. Some the size of marbles, others spread out the size on a dinner plate. Cleanup work has started, but there were new tar balls where the sand had already been scraped and cleaned up. Heavily oiled water and soda bottles (Coke is generic for soda in the South, ask anyone in my family).
Heard that POTUS was headed down to AL/MS/FL today. Saw Marine 1 cruise the beach while I was out shooting. I was the only person on the beach. Some heavy equipment lined up to work, but no work until about time I was leaving (10 am). Spoke to some locals who said President was supposed to be coming to Bon Secour this afternoon. Secret Service had been around for a week. Don't know if he will be here or not. Second time he and I have missed each other!
Headed to Venice, LA. Will get a chance to go into Fort Jackson facility where they are rehab ing birds. Thanks to Jamie Clark and Cindy Hoffman of Defenders for the Press Pass.
Still looking to get into the marshes again and also head into area where most wildlife being affected.. May get to post some images tonight on blog. Now just taking a break to get Press Pass figured out.. Stayed tuned.. Things are looking worse. We are definitely in this for the long run.
Thanks to Rebecca for being so understanding so close to our wedding!

Oil Spill continues

I came back home last Friday (May 28) from Venice, LA.. It feels strange not to be down where all the action is. I became accustomed to seeing the news commentators live, not on the screen. Since I have been back, I have been through my images and am trying to organize some support to do further documentation of the oil spill. Doug Inkley, Chief Biologist for the National Wildlife Federation, said in an interview, that it would be nice to watch some of the affected areas over time to see what happens. That is what I'm prepared to do as my last trip documented images with GPS coordinates so I can go back to those areas and record, photographically, what is happening to our environment from the oil contamination. I am very disheartened by the seeming lack of effort to start cleaning up or protecting better the area around Venice, LA where I shot. It would be nice if there was some communication from someone (EPA, USFWS, BP, etc) about definite plans and organization to clean up the spill.. Maybe they're waiting until it's over..

It puts my mind almost in a state of shock to imagine the enormity of the impact of this oil spill. BP is going to owe a lot of people a lot of money for this tragedy. But all the money what make up for the heartbreak we all feel for the rape of Mother Nature.. Make your thoughts know to your Congressional Representative.. Donate money to Defenders of Wildlife and National Wildlife Federation to help with the clean.. Consider volunteering time, when they finally get around to cleaning up this mess and allow volunteers to help.

The image for today is a panorama of an area that shows how ineffective the protective boom is that they are spending so much time and money putting out..