Day 1 in Gulf Shore Alabama
Damage claims, worker compensation claims and "it ain't that bad" claims.
So, first off - BP is beyond doubt guilty of an earth crime. At first glance, it would seem admirable the efforts that BP is putting forth here, however after some investigation, I have found they are doing so much wrong! There are perhaps hundreds of people in the 20 mile stretch of beach I've seen so far, with shovels picking up globs of crude, bagging it and carrying it to out houses on tractors and from there it's getting dumped in what looks like sealed dumpsters and then carried away on trucks. This is all happening via private organizations that self admitted are working for BP.
So far I gather that BP is paying around $18 an hour - they make their workers sign some sort of document of disclosure that I have yet to see with my own eyes. The hiring process is a bit long, one would think that you would be welcome to grab a shovel and pitch in but that simply is not the case. They require you to become haz-mat handling certified of sorts. Reportedly - this is a 40 hour training period.
Many people I have talked to have told me that if they were seen collecting any oil, the were reprimanded by the site worker leaders and told that they cant do it because they are not certified to handle hazardous materials. Amazing to hear when you see a small family playing in the sand 20 feet away - have you ever told a child not to do something? I am sure there are many toddlers sticking this stuff in their mouths when moms not watching. It simply doent make sense to me that if this stuff is so toxic, why are they not closing the beaches?
The EPA is on the scene, and for those of you who are familiar with my suspicions of government you'll probably be surprised to hear me say they are my best friends at this point. They answered a bombardment of questions from me, all with a smile and they returned very valuable intel.
One point I would like to mention though is that they had nothing to say about non-PB organizations around helping out. I know that they are at fault and therefore should definitely should be here giving it there all - but this is a pretty big problem, we cant bank they will be able to fill all claims against them, clean this up entirely and not go bankrupt.
This seeming inevitability puts the challenge on the rest of us - we must be ready to help - not necessarily BP but at very least our precious eco-system that this disaster threatens.
My mission at this point seems to be to continue to investigate the clean up effort, and as much as possible compile a list of people and organizations that you can reach if you're interested in helping. I know many of you are hating BP right now, and I won't argue your reasons for doing so. Hopefully I can come up with some "non-BP" efforts for you to support. In the mean time, please – if you have any information or suggestions that can help me out down here, or have something to add to this site, – please, comment or send me a personal message by using the contact form on this website.