UV light reveals oil still on beaches

Photograph by Chris Combs, National Geographic

With the exception of an occasional tarball, the beaches may look clean, but just like dirty ocean water where you can't see the bacteria, the truth is more subtle.

Researchers from the University of South Florida Coastal Research Lab are using ultraviolet lights to expose oil that is still on the beaches that appear clean to the naked eye.

The question remains what are the ecosystem and health impacts of this invisible sheen of oil (and perhaps dispersant).

Read more....

Click here for more of Chris' stunning photos.

Oil lurks beneath sand six months later

Worth Trusting?

Emerald Coast Chapter finds potential evidence of dispersant on FL beach

Results are in for samples taken on 9-16-10 and 9-23-10. Although tarballs were again present on the beaches, no oil compounds were detected above 5ppm.

The 9-16 sample from Blue Mountain Beach was positive for Propylene glycol at 30.6mg/L.

This is well over three times the reporting limit and considered a significant result. Propylene Glycol is one of the components of dispersants. The sample is being further evaluated to determine if other components of Corexit are also present and to help differentiate from other pollutants.

Read more and support the Emerald Coast's monitoring program here.

Read more about dispersants here.

Will keep you posted on our findings and we continue to test along Florida and Alabama beaches.

Obama Re-opens Deepwater Drilling

The Obama administration announced yesterday the lifting of the 4-month-old moratorium on deep-water (i.e., 500 ft) offshore drilling. The decision to end the moratorium comes before final safety studies on the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico have been completed. According to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, recently strengthened rules and improved oversight have reduced risks to a point where offshore drilling can be allowed to resume. However, major questions remain about the causes of the BP disaster and whether future deepwater drilling activities will sufficiently protect human safety and the environment. Specifically, it remains unclear why the Macondo well blowout preventer failed, causing the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Commented Pete Stauffer, Ocean Ecosystem Program Manager for the Surfrider Foundation, "We find it troubling that the Obama Administration is already opening up deepwater drilling before final sudies from the President’s Oil Spill Commission, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Coast Guard/ BOEM Investigation have been completed." The Surfrider Foundation remains opposed to any new offshore oil drilling as our nation’s oceans, waves and beaches are vital recreational, economic and ecological resources that will be polluted by an increase in offshore drilling.

Follow UGA's Marine Science Departments research on the "lost" oil

Scientists at UGA were amongst the first to find signals of the underwater oil plume and more recently a thick layer of oil on the seafloor that was reported on NPR.

Dr. Samantha Joye, who is leading some of this research, has created a blog so you can flow along: http://gulfblog.uga.edu/

Surfrider Foundation Joins Forces with 350.org

 Surfrider Foundation was approached by 350.org to help raise awareness about climate change and their 10-10-10 Global Work Party.  We jumped at the opportunity to work with them because many of our programs and campaigns are inextricably linked to climate change.  Obviously, our Not the Answer campaign is a perfect match to help raise awareness about climate change, in general, and join forces with 350.org.

The goal of 10-10-10 is to inspire the world to tackle climate change and send a strong message to our leaders in government that we insist on enforceable laws that reduce CO2 levels to 350 parts per billion.   350 is the focus because scientists say that if we can't get below that, the damage we're already seeing from climate change will continue to accelerate.

The idea behind the 10-10-10 Work Party is simple.  Plan something in your local community that will help deal with global warming and raise awareness about the problem.    In Auckland, New Zealand, they're having a giant bike fix-up day to get every bike in the city back on the road.  In the Maldives, they're putting up solar panels on the President's office.  In Uganda, they are going to plant thousands of trees, and in Bolivia they're installing solar stoves for a massive carbon neutral picnic.

To find an event near you, go here.