Seeing the oil spill firsthand
Post categories: Robyn in New Orleans
| 04:25 UK time, Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Today I saw the oil spill with my own eyes.
I've been in Louisiana for two weeks now covering the personal stories of this disaster. But I hadn't yet seen the spill for myself.
I can tell you right now, I've come back to my hotel room feeling awfully glum.
I went out on a boat with the President of the , Larry Schweiger.
It took an hour and a half zipping through the Gulf before we started seeing red blotches floating in the sea. Within minutes, the blotches turned to a stream of goop resembling chunky tomato soup.
Larry pointed out a school of dolphins jumping through the oil. It was like seeing the horror-movie version of Flipper.
On board our boat was an American media crew, armed with television cameras.
"We want to see oily pelicans!" one member cried out.
The boat's captain shook his head in disgust. "Oh no you don't," he said under his breath.
I also got a glimpse of the dispersant. It looked like white and foamy.
Larry showed me the shirt he was wearing. A faded blue with his organisation's logo embroidered on it.
"This shirt was brand new. I've worn it out on these waters once and look at it now."
Indeed, the shirt looked like it had been bleached in spots.
"That's the dispersant," he said. "If this is what it's doing to my shirt, just imagine what it's doing to the animals."
