UPDATED: Help Wildlife Impacted by the Gulf Oil Spill

[Greg Downing]

I wanted to post this link for our members to refer to for info on the Gulf Oil Spill and to let people know how you can help wildlife affected by the disaster:

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Co ... Spill.aspx

*You may also use this thread to discuss the disaster and/or post other links that may be relevant to the topic. For the time being this is a global topic showing in all forums. Eventually it will be moved to the Environmental, Conservation and Ethics forum where it will be archived.


UPDATE:

I am considering heading to Louisiana in order to volunteer my time to help in the clean up effort when the oil spill hits land. Many birds and other wildlife are expected to be affected by the spill. Birds are nesting right now and migration is still going on as well. Who knows what the damage will be but if you are able to volunteer I implore you to look into it.

At this point we don't exactly know what the extent of the damage might be, when volunteers will be needed etc but it occurred to me that my connections through naturescapes may be used to get the word out and perhaps even gather our own coalition of volunteers. I have already made contact with organizations such as Louisiana Audubon, NWF, etc. Tomorrow I will be on the phone much of the day figuring out logistics, what might be needed, who else to talk to etc.

In the meantime I am posting this in case anyone wants to join me in volunteering their time and resources or organizing help. I want to be proactive and be ready to go when needed so I am posting this now.

Please contact me directly at greg@naturescapes.net for more details as I get them. I will also post here as things progress.

Also, if anyone has connections down there and/or live in the area you may be able to help so please contact me asap.

UPDATE MAY 4:

Today, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana was called to learn more about volunteer opportunities to assist with recovery efforts for the Gulf spill. We were told that the Coalition is waiting for BP to permit volunteer help and until BP authorizes such help, little is known about when volunteers will be needed and in what form aid will need to be provided. Right now, they are collecting names and contact info of those willing to volunteer, and will keep potential volunteers updated via email. A minimum four hour HAZMAT training and one hour safety course would be required of all volunteers, possible additional training may be necessary.

To sign up to volunteer, please contact the following organizations:
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana: http://www.crcl.org/coalitionprograms/o ... overy.html
Audubon Action Center: http://www.audubonaction.org/site/PageS ... _HowtoHelp
Oiled Wildlife Care Network: http://www.owcn.org/

More volunteer information can be found in this article by the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/3 ... 58736.html

These organizations are also accepting monetary donations by those who can not offer help in person but would like to contribute in some way.

An email from the Gulf Response Involvement Team, made up of the National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, and Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana can be seen below. This is the latest information we have. Again PLEASE sign up to volunteer as well as email greg@naturescapes.net to be added to the list of NSN members interested in offering aid. We will keep you updated as we learn more.

[Maxis]

Great source Greg. I posted a useful link on my Facebook regarding future drilling. This is huge for us here in Florida!!

Thank you for doing this!

[Craig Lipski]

Thank you!

[bikinchris]

Crossing fingers and hoping for the best here in Louisiana. Many people don't know how much seafood comes from the Gulf of Mexico. The beaches of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida would be easier to clean up and would impact less wildlife and less seafood production than the coast of Louisiana. There isn't much beach here at all. From the Louisiana Seafood Board:
•Louisiana leads the nation in crawfish production, more than 90% of the crawfish we eat come from here.
•In a blind taste test, consumers chose Louisiana oysters over others sold in the US 85% of the time.
•70% of the Oysters caught in the US are from the Gulf Coast.
•Each year Louisiana shrimpers catch 90 - 120 million pounds of both brown and white shrimp.
•One years shrimp catch, strung end to end, would wrap around the Superdome 94,839 times.
•69% of the domestic, US shrimp are harvested from the Gulf waters.
•Louisiana leads the nation in production of both hard and soft-shell crabs.
•If you’ve eaten crab on the East Coast, chances are it’s from Louisiana. We are the top shipper of live #1 male crabs to the Atlantic coast market.

[WJaekel]

.....
•Louisiana leads the nation in crawfish production, more than 90% of the crawfish we eat come from here.
•In a blind taste test, consumers chose Louisiana oysters over others sold in the US 85% of the time.
•70% of the Oysters caught in the US are from the Gulf Coast.
•Each year Louisiana shrimpers catch 90 - 120 million pounds of both brown and white shrimp.
•One years shrimp catch, strung end to end, would wrap around the Superdome 94,839 times.
•69% of the domestic, US shrimp are harvested from the Gulf waters.
•Louisiana leads the nation in production of both hard and soft-shell crabs.
•If you’ve eaten crab on the East Coast, chances are it’s from Louisiana. We are the top shipper of live #1 male crabs to the Atlantic coast market.

Impressive numbers. Additionally, I think it's high time to focus on the catastrophic impact on nature not only from an economical and human-centered viewpoint as it always happens worldwide but finally learn from the catastrophies and respect nature per se. The desastrous consequences for wildlife and enviroment usually don't have the first priority since it's only money and "market" that counts in the end. More precise, the economical impact counts at first. This could come out as the worst environmental disaster in history with countless animals dying. Lobbyists evidentally had blocked more stringent security laws for offshore drilling and don't care about nature in the same way as speculants and corrupt bankers drove the economies to the brink of ruin and don't care about the man in the street but only about profit. Until now business continues as usual i.e. attacking countries and currency by speculation here in Europe. Politics has proven to be helpless here and in the US. However, even lobbyists and speculants will not be able to eat their money and live in a ruined enviroment- or maybe they should be forced to do so once As for the impacts by the oil spill and the consequences for the future, I'm pretty pessimistic. As soon as the headlines become more silent they will continue in the same way as before until to the next disaster. The public has to pay the price and is welcome to donate

Wolfgang

[Greg Downing]

I am considering heading to Louisiana in order to volunteer my time to help in the clean up effort when the oil spill hits land. Many birds and other wildlife are expected to be affected by the spill. Birds are nesting right now and migration is still going on as well. Who knows what the damage will be but if you are able to volunteer I implore you to look into it.

At this point we don't exactly know what the extent of the damage might be, when volunteers will be needed etc but it occurred to me that my connections through naturescapes may be used to get the word out and perhaps even gather our own coalition of volunteers. I have already made contact with organizations such as Louisiana Audubon, NWF, etc. Tomorrow I will be on the phone much of the day figuring out logistics, what might be needed, who else to talk to etc.

In the meantime I am posting this in case anyone wants to join me in volunteering their time and resources or organizing help. I want to be proactive and be ready to go when needed so I am posting this now.

Please contact me directly at greg@naturescapes.net for more details as I get them. I will also post here as things progress.

Also, if anyone has connections down there and/or live in the area you may be able to help so please contact me asap.

[Maxis]

Greg,

Depending on when the help is need it, I may take a trip and join you. Weekends works best for me. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Thank you for your efforts and support!

[Kari Post]

I want to go. My schedule is packed but let me know when you are going and if anything opens up I'll be there!

[Greg Downing]

I am getting all sorts of info from folks off the forum and will update folks when I have something more concrete. In the meantime if you can volunteer please put your name in here:

http://www.crcl.org/coalitionprograms/o ... overy.html

I have already registered but hope to speak to someone tomorrow to find out more details. I have some trips planned this summer that I cannot cancel but in between I can volunteer my time as needed and in particular at least until late June though it's probable that this will last beyond that. In the interim I will focus on getting the word out as much as possible.

[paul.marcellini]

I'm thinking of hitting the road to try and cover the damage on Florida's coasts. And hopefully get some images before as well. This is a new avenue for me so I would love some leads connections, as I am local to Miami. I was hoping to document as much as possible to make sure BP can't wiggle out of anything later on. I just can't imagine how this will all turn out.

[Kristi Graham]

Count me in Greg!

[Maxis]

I'm thinking of hitting the road to try and cover the damage on Florida's coasts. And hopefully get some images before as well. This is a new avenue for me so I would love some leads connections, as I am local to Miami. I was hoping to document as much as possible to make sure BP can't wiggle out of anything later on. I just can't imagine how this will all turn out.

Paul,

If everything works out for the both of us, we should consider car pulling! to share the expense!

This is also for everyone else here in Florida that would like to participate and help out. I'll be happy to share the ride!

[Bill Tucker]

I offered up my services late Friday. As many of you know I work year round with Injured and orphaned wildlife here in Florida. I have offered to work in any affected area for extended periods of time capturing and transporting injured birds. So far I have been put on lists both with BP and the main rehab origination that is "working the spill"

It unfortunately seems there is a lot of bureaucracy with the latest coming from OSHA and organizations are slow to bring in help. One person asked me today if I had a "HAZWOPER" certification. I said no never heard of it. She said it is a safety certification to work around oil spills. Then OSHA's press release said they want to make sure workers first receive proper training & advisories in things like oil is slippery, heat exhaustion, hazardous plants and animals to the region (snakes), insect bites, hazards of oil & cleanup chemicals coming in contact with your skin, you may fail overboard when working on a boat and it could lead to drowning, etc. This was put out for all people working to help clean up the spill just not those working with wildlife. I shook my head just wondering which will come first the caping of oil well or getting people trained so something can be done.

Presently there are two rehabilitation groups on the ground working together to care for injured birds. They are the best in the country when it comes to oiled birds and have set up two locations LA & AL and are looking at the need for one in Florida.

The Lead Group is Tri-State Bird Rescue out of Delaware and they are working with International Bird Rescue out of Ca. These are probably the two most experienced groups when it comes to birds and oil spills. There are other groups working with marine mammals and I am not sure who those are but will happy to source the information if someone wants me to. I believe the main facility for the marine mammals is in Mobile, AL.

Bill

[Craig Lipski]

I haven't checked out the link you provided, but I'm wary of giving money to organizations; I'd be happy to PayPal or send a check to you for a few bucks to help defray expenses; I know that way my money would be well spent; make a general reply here, or pm me if you'd be more comfortable; I'm not talking big bucks here, but I'm sure every little bit helps!

[neverspook]

Thanks for this, Greg. I have been thinking of going down there to help rehab oiled animals as well. Not sure I can make it all that way down there at short notice given committments I have here, but keep me posted just in case. I might end up just being able to donate money for the cause, but I guess that is better than nothing. Anyone have any thoughts on what would be the very best place to donate for this?

Heard on the radio today that the winds at the moment were sending the slick away from the Louisiana wetlands and toward beaches in neighbouring states. Let's hope that wind holds because beaches will be way way easier to clean than the wetlands.

That hazmat training stuff is just ridiculous. Back in the late 80s I helped collect oil off beaches from a small spill in Oregon that made it up to the west coast of Vancouver Island. We brought our own shovels and boots and coveralls - the locals fed us and put us up. And we did not need hazmat training. We just arrived and started shovelling crude into garbage bags.

They are never going to get the volunteer support they need in the Gulf in time if they put up that hazmat training roadblock. Some people might just have a weekend to volunteer - just let them get at it. And a bunch of local fishermen wanted to use their boats to help set up booms but weren't allowed to without hazmat training. And they wanted BP to pay them up front just to cover the costs of their boat fuel etc and BP said no, we'll pay you later. But a lot of those people don't have the resources to pay costs up front, especially since they will be losing income due to the spill. You'd think BP would be filling their fuel tanks for them in gratitude.

The only silver lining I am seeing here is that Obama is thinking twice about his announcement of opening up more offshore drilling. And this is adding fuel (pardon the pun) to the campaign in British Columbia opposing the government's plan to lift the 30-year moratorium on tanker traffic on the Inside Passage. And please god it knocks some sense into the oil companies that are planning to drill in the Canadian Arctic. They are trying to convince the National Energy Board to reduce the safeguards they are now required to put in place when they drill, arguing these are not necessary since technology is so advanced now there should be no problem. Yeah, right! We've seen how well that technology is working to stop the leak in the Gulf. And in the dark of an Arctic winter, you won't even be able track the spill visually, dispersants won't work in the cold etc etc. And again, it is an ecologically rich and sensitive area up there in the Beaufort.

Roberta Olenick
Vancouver, BC
www.neverspook.com

[walkinman]

Hey Folks,

Thanks to Greg for posting this, and to everyone for their best intentions to help out. If I can swing a trip down there, I'll definitely be on board. But please, please, please, don't dismiss the importance of safety and your own health here. Oil (and oil fumes) is a toxin that can cause incredible harm to your body.

The HAZWOPER certification is a must. If you're not familiar with working around this sludge, be careful. Read this article from Alaska's Rikki Ott, - she's probably one of the most knowledgeable people anywhere on this topic. An excerpt:

"State health officials are warning people who are sensitive to reduced air quality to stay indoors, but anyone who experiences the classic symptoms of crude oil overexposure–nausea, vomiting, headaches, or cold or flu-like symptoms–should seek medical help.

This is serious: Oil spill cleanups are regulated as hazardous waste cleanups because oil is, in fact, hazardous to health. Breathing oil fumes is extremely harmful.

After the 2002 Prestige oil spill off Galicia, Spain, and the 2007 Hebei Spirit oil spill in South Korea, medical doctors found fishermen and cleanup workers suffered from respiratory problems, central nervous system problems (headaches, nausea, dizziness, etc.), and even genetic damage (South Korea). I have attended two international conferences the past two years to share information with these doctors.

During the Exxon Valdez spill, health problems among cleanup workers became so widespread, so fast, that medical doctors, among others, sounded warnings. Dr. Robert Rigg, former Alaska medical director for Standard Alaska (BP), warned, “It is a known fact that neurologic changes (brain damage), skin disorders (including cancer), liver and kidney damage, cancer of other organ systems, and medical complications–secondary to exposure to working unprotected in (or inadequately protected)–can and will occur to workers exposed to crude oil and other petrochemical by-products. While short-term complaints, i.e., skin irritation, nausea, dizziness, pulmonary symptoms, etc., may be the initial signs of exposure and toxicity, the more serious long-term effects must be prevented.”[1]

Unfortunately, Exxon called the short-term symptoms, “the Valdez Crud,” and dismissed 6,722 cases of respiratory claims from cleanup workers as “colds or flu” using an exemption under OSHA’s hazardous waste cleanup reporting requirements.[2]

Sadly, sick Exxon cleanup workers were left to suffer and pay their own medical expenses. I know of many who have been disabled by their illnesses – or have died."

Be careful, folks. Remember, "safety first" means YOUR safety first.

PS - Oh, and I believe "Dawn" is still the detergent of choice in removing oil from stricken marine life.

Cheers

Carl

[Maxis]

Excellent information Carl. I want to go regardless. I'm sure we'll get the proper gear and training.

We'll see how it goes!

Thank you for sharing!

[Kari Post]

I just found some new, very graphic photos of the oil spill and its impact on wildlife... the dead are washing up on shores

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/0 ... tml?fbwall

(PS: The Huffington Post is one of my favorite sites for news related to nature, the environment, sustainability, and green living. If you like that kind of stuff, you should follow them on FB or Twitter or subscribe to their RSS feeds for updates about all sorts of important topics.)

[Maxis]

Crazy Kari. Thank you for sharing!

[Greg Downing]

Thanks for sharing Kari - terrible stuff! Someone needs to check the royal terns as they suddenly turned into black skimmers.

Also thanks to Kari for the research today...Folks it looks like our hands are tied until BP authorizes volunteers to the area.But you can still register to volunteer as I have. I just received a letter from the "Gulf Response Involvement Team" and Kari spoke to the "Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana" (referred to earlier) for me this morning. They basically said their hands are tied until BP calls on them to act. They (the coalition) are trying to organize the training for HAZWOPER certification - which I agree is important. This is dangerous stuff and we can't just be going out on our own unfortunately. It is however frustrating that more advanced planning can take place so people can plan their lives and also so we have a better chance of actually being able to respond in a timely manner.

Again here is where to register: http://www.crcl.org/coalitionprograms/oilspillrecovery.html

We'll be talking about this quite a bit tonight on the radio podcast so be sure to listen in.

Here is the letter I received today:

Dear Volunteers,

Thank you for registering to donate your services to help in the BP Oil Spill. The outpouring of support has been amazing, and we are working to properly utilize your donated time and resources. The Gulf Response Involvement Team (GRIT) has been hard at work to identify when and where volunteers will be called to action. Please be patient as we work with federal authorities and BP to coordinate and organize volunteer participation.

Clarification: There is NO payment for volunteering your time through these conservation organizations. We do not have funding to assist you with travel, although we will provide food for volunteers on site. For information on paid employment opportunities, please visit http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com or http://www.bp.com

GRIT is made up of numerous local, regional and national conservation organizations—including National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana—that have joined forces and shared resources to develop a swift and effective plan to assist the authorities in their efforts to clean up any damage due to the oil reaching the coast.

Louisiana’s coastal wetlands were at great risk before this threat, and we need your help to ensure that the BP Oil Spill does not cause their extinction. The local, state and federal agencies are working hard to prevent the oil from reaching these fragile wetlands. At this time, we don’t want to interfere with these efforts. We are working with the authorities to identify volunteer opportunities, training and participation.

Our first concern is the wildlife. Those who have signed up with wildlife certifications and/or HAZMAT training will be called on first to assist in the recovery of oiled or injured wildlife. You will hear from us as the need arises. If you find oiled wildlife, please report it, along with specific location information, to the Wildlife Hotline at 1-866-557-1401. This message service is checked every hour, and professionals with bird and animal-capture experience will respond to your message. Please avoid entering affected areas or handling affected wildlife until you are a part of the coordinated response effort, for the safety of you and the wildlife.

Training will be required to volunteer. We are working on organizing the required 4-hour HAZMAT training, safety training and other needs for additional volunteers. Please understand that the crude oil is a hazardous substance and proper training is needed in order to handle, clean or transport the materials. Contact with the substance without proper training could result in significant health issues. Please also understand the fragile nature of coastal Louisiana’s wetlands and DO NOT attempt to conduct any recovery activities without the proper guidance or supervision from GRIT or the authorities.

We are in need of:

* individuals or organizations that can donate their time and services with specialized skills, such as web design, database management, remote sensing, aerial monitoring, and communication technologies.
* supplies and equipment to help with this recovery. If you, your community or company is interested in donated supplies, equipment, computers, communication devices, GPS technology, or anything else, please contact Mel Landry at mel@btnep.org for a list of needed supplies.

Until opportunities are better established, we ask that you be patient. The magnitude of this environmental disaster ensures that our coastal organizations will need your help for months and years to come.

Thank you again for your generous offer to help. We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Gulf Response Involvement Team, made up of

National Audubon Society

National Wildlife Federation

Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana