Let the Public Know What's Happening in the Gulf
BP would have you believe that the oil disaster is largely behind us, when in fact we are just now beginning to understand its repercussions.
We know that with ongoing devastating floods, the Gulf of Mexico and local communities in the region are at risk yet again. And we know that the impacts from this flooding only add to the harm caused by BP's oil disaster.
But simply put: We don't know enough about the Gulf damage assessment and research that is being conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) right now.
If the gulf is ever to recover from the oil disaster, we need transparency in the Gulf of Mexico damage assessment and restoration process.
Let the NOAA and DOI know that allowing the public and scientific community access to this information is critical to the ultimate success of long-term Gulf restoration.
We, the undersigned, join Ocean Conservancy in calling for more openness in NOAA's Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) in response to BP's oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
[Your comments will be added here] Specifically, we urge NOAA and DOI to provide an overview of the impacts by sharing summary-level information on what is being learned.
Allowing the public and scientific community access to this information is critical to the ultimate success of long-term Gulf restoration, because it helps us better understand what's happening and involve more stakeholders in the recovery and restoration of the region and livelihoods.
Thank you.
