Dr. Sylvia Earle gave a remarkable and inspiring testimony during a recent Congressional hearing on the disastrous oil spill taking place from the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. I strongly encourage you to read the entire transcript of her remarks, kindly posted by our friends at the Council for Ocean Leadership http://www.oceanleadership.org/2010/sylvia-earle-to-u-s-congress-cheap-oil-is-costing-us-the-earth/ under the title: "Sylvia Earle to U.S. Congress: Cheap Oil is Costing Us the Earth"
Below is the concluding section of her testimony with 10 specifc suggestions:
Thoughts and Solutions
I could go on about the problems, but I have only a few minutes and would like to summarize with thoughts about solutions. While encouraging and supporting all-out efforts to stop the flow of oil, the following might be considered:
1. Halt the subsurface use of dispersants and limit surface use to strategic sites where other methods cannot safeguard critically important coastal habitats.
2. Immediately deploy subsurface technologies and sensors to evaluate the fate of the underwater plumes of oil, as well as the finely dispersed oil and chemicals and their impact on floating surface forests of Sargassum communities, life in the water column, and on the sea floor.
3. Immediately gather baseline data, both broad and detailed, to measure impacts and recovery.
4. Support operations to salvage and restore the 40 or so species of affected large wildlife species and their habitats.
5. Support initiatives to create large reserves in the Gulf to facilitate recovery and ongoing health of the thousands of less conspicuous species and marine ecosystems, from the deepest areas to shallow shores.
It is urgent that large areas of the Gulf of Mexico be designated for full protection from extractive activities. Protected areas are critically needed to safeguard important spawning areas for bluefin tuna, for grouper, snapper, sharks and even the wily species of shallow and deepwater shrimp. Aside from the importance of such areas for healthy ecosystems to survive, they are essential if fishing is to continue as a way of life in the Gulf. (No fish, no fishermen.)
Implementing and expanding the Islands in the Stream concept long proposed by NOAA for a network of marine protection in the Gulf would be a good place to begin.
6. Make substantial investments in human occupied, robotic and autonomous systems, sensors and stations for exploration, research, monitoring and safeguarding the living ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, the EPA and the USGS should have such resources available to complement ships, and air and spacecraft, and it is in the nation's best interest to support development of such facilities for use by non-federal research institutions as well.
7. Embark on expeditions to explore deep water in the Gulf of Mexico and establish permanent monitoring stations and protocols.
8. Encourage tri-national collaboration among scientists and institutions around the Gulf.
9. Mobilize good minds to address solutions such as the Gulf of Mexico Summit five years ago that helped launch a regional governance body of U.S. and Mexican states. A new summit is being planned by the Harte Research Institute to take place later this year to address next steps to assure an economically and ecologically healthy Gulf of Mexico.
Cuba, a country that some have been worrying about with respect to the possibility of oil spills heading north as exploration and drilling are picking up in that country, now is faced with worries about the consequences of a major spill from the U.S. heading south.
10. While investing in rapid expansion of safe energy alternatives, new standards of care need to be implemented for industries extracting oil and gas from the Gulf and elsewhere in US waters. Thorough documentation of the nature of the seafloor and surrounding region should be made public prior to operations such as drilling, establishing platforms and laying pipeline, and monitoring of changes to the environment measured and made publically available. Environmental issues need to be taken into account, and be the basis for excluding operations when necessary to protect vital environmental concerns. Transparency is vital.
Five minutes is time enough only to touch on a few major concerns, but I want to end by emphasizing the greatest threats, past, present and future to the Gulf, to the ocean, and to the future of humankind. That would be ignorance, and its terrible twin, complacency.
The loss of human lives, the destruction of the life-giving Gulf cannot be justified as an acceptable cost of doing business, but if we really do go forward with a commitment to do things differently henceforth, we will have gained something of enduring value. We must do better about thinking like an ocean, and thinking on behalf of those who will benefit--or suffer--from the consequences of our actions.
Now, maybe for the first time, we know what to do. We still have a chance to make peace with the ocean.