What you can do about the catastrophic BP Gulf oil spill

For months millions of gallons of toxic oil have been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.  Helpless to staunch the flow of oil, many feel compelled to do something in the wake of the country’s worst ecological disaster in history.

Since the April 22 spill Brevard County officials have met with state and federal agencies, environmental groups, experts, and volunteers to coordinate local efforts in the event our 72 miles of coastline are impacted directly.  For the latest information visit:

Brevard County’s Emergency Management and Natural Resource Management

www.embrevard.com

www.natres.brevardcounty.us

Keep Brevard Beautiful

www.keepbrevardbeautiful.com

As the probability of oil reaching Brevard County beaches increases, a CoastWatch program will be put into effect. Managed by Keep Brevard Beautiful, volunteers are asked to monitor the shoreline on a daily basis. Citizens are encouraged to observe and report, but not to get physically involved. Citizens should not touch or handle oil products or wildlife. All volunteers in the Coastwatch Program are required to go through a one-hour training program.

211 Brevard

In Brevard County, “211″ may be dialed from any landline or cellular telephone to volunteer to be a CoastWatch monitor, assigned a section of the beach, report oil sheen, tar balls, or other oil products and report oily birds or wildlife

:

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has been designated the lead state agency for responding to potential impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along Florida’s shoreline.

www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm

Because oil is a hazardous material, volunteer opportunities are limited for unaffiliated, untrained volunteers.

www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org

and

www.thespillsite.com

have up-to date information for those wishing to volunteer

Florida Oil Spill Information Line, available from 8 am to 6 pm daily: (888) 337-3569

National Audubon Society

www.audoban.org

Is working with public and private organizations to coordinate volunteers.  Again, only trained volunteers can participate on the “front lines” for the safety of the volunteers and the wildlife.

Birders are encouraged to record their observations of birds and submit the information to www.ebird.org to document the location and abundance of birds to identify high priority areas for protection and restoration

Sea Turtle Preservation Society

www.seaturtlespacecoast.org

Although not an immediate threat to our local sea turtle habitat, STPS will continue to monitor conditions, sending out notices via Flipperflash and Facebook

Join the group Everyday Wildlife Champions on Facebook

MoGo (Mobile Gulf Observatory), a free IPhone app available from iTunes allows users to photograph an oiled animal, pinpoint its location using GPS and transmit the information to an animal rescue group

Just Say No

Brevard County Manatees team manager Kyle Smith says his team no longer refers to batting practice as “BP” in protest of the oil spill.  Changing the term, to “hitting rehearsal shows that we are deeply concerned and hurt by the disaster,” said Smith in a statement on the team’s website

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