Tuesday evening Navy Secretary and former Governor of Mississippi Ray Mabus came to St Petersburg for a public meeting about the Gulf oil catastrophe. President Barack Obama appointed Mabus to head up a commission to write a long-range recovery plan for the gulf, so Mabus has been traveling around the gulf looking for suggestions.
The meeting was held at a Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute auditorium. I attended the meeting. There was seating for about 300 people, and the auditorium was filled to capacity.
Read - Obama's point man on oil spill recovery hears concerns, ideas in St. Pete
http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/obamas-point-man-on-oil-spill-recovery-hears-concerns-ideas-in-st-pete/1112930
Mabus conducted the meeting himself. He started by stating his commitment to science based answers founded on testing and good research as well as his commitment to long term recovery. I was impressed by his patience and understanding for the concerns of the many people who waited in long lines to comment or ask questions. The meeting ran much longer than scheduled.
Many issues were raised and several were repeated, but one issue that kept coming up was the dispersant BP used with EPA blessing. What will its long term impact be on the health of the Gulf? On the food chain and fish stocks? Will it be safe for children to play in water along the beaches? I sensed a deep distrust of EPA assurances. Among the people who raised the issue was a Viet Nam veteran. He spoke of Agent Orange and the assurances given then of its safety that later were shown to be wrong.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment