There is so much information I obtained from this past weekend that I don’t even know how to express it all right now. I will be writing an article shortly to detail what I found in relation to BP’s operations; suffice it for now to say that transparency is not high on the list of BP’s objectives. However, I couldn’t wait any longer to publish the photos that I took there, so I decided to share them before I wrote the article.
Some of these photos, and some of the ones I wish I had been authorized to take, are the result of a large amount of very obnoxious bureaucratic media handling. BP might call it Public Relations. I’d call it Media Control, as there’s no relationship whatsoever, other than journalists eating up what BP says because there’s no alternative. BP is being far too totalitarian of what is photographed and released about this incident, and in the long run their lack of transparency is only going to damage their image more than it’s already hurt. In the mean time, and while I craft this piece based on some interviews that I was fortunate to get, enjoy the photos I was lucky enough to take.
There is more on the way. And I am angry, and I am ready to share.
A dead fish floats in froth created by oil sheen in Pensacola Bay, Florida.
An offshore platform near Fort Morgan, Alabama.
FSU student Bridgette Balderson holds a cup of petroleum tar found on the beach of Dauphin Island, Alabama. Tar balls reached the Alabama coast several weeks ago, prompting cleanup efforts by BP along the coastline.
Hay barriers on the shoreline near Fort Gaines, Alabama.
Bales of hay put into place by BP cleanup crews. The hay barriers will inhibit the spread of oil when it washes ashore in liquid form.
A national guard chopper flys out of a restricted beach area on Dauphin Island, Alabama.
BP cleanup crews construct large earthen berms on Dauphin Island, Alabama. As Dauphin Island acts as a natural partial barrier to the mouth of Mobile Bay, these will help to stop the flow of oil inland during high tide or hurricane season.
Crews managed by CleanHarbour, a company contracted by BP to man the skimming and monitor vessels, prepare to board boats searching for offshore oil slicks.
My escort for the duration of the photo opportunity I was granted inside the compound. While inside, I was allowed only to walk the length of the main concourse, once, and take photos. Additionally, "You are to speak to nobody. You may not ask questions, even of me. No questions will be answered."
Booms ready for deployment when oil is sighted near the shoreline of Dauphin Island. "We are getting 4000 feet of boom every other day," says a head BP cleanup executive to me during an interview.
A BP-contracted worker poses during my tour inside the cleanup compound.
Workers help each other put on protective shoe covers before tackling oil and tar balls on Dauphin Island beach. When asked how long they had been there, "We can't talk to you. We were told to tell you to contact our supervisor."
A tar ball found on Dauphin Island beach
BP cleanup crews remove oil and tar balls from Dauphin Island beach, Alabama.
A local kitesurfer enjoys one last run before the oil makes the beach unusable. Many local residents are taking advantage of the so-far little oil to take 'last swims' and enjoy the still-white sand.
Unnamed FSU students working for BP remove tar balls from Pensacola Beach, Florida. When asked their employer, "Sorry, we can't talk to you."
A bag of oil-drenched sand from Pensacola Beach, Florida.
A worker hauls a bag of oil to the disposal point at Navarre Beach, Florida.
Tar balls strewn on the shoreline at Navarre Beach, Florida. An oncoming storm forced crews to cut cleaning work until the rain and wind passed.
In the path of an oncoming thunderstorm, BP cleanup crews pack up operations into vans until the storm passes over.
The sign at Pensacola Beach, Florida, warning tourists not to take cleanup into their own hands.
