We're here in Mobile, AL. and spent our first day meeting many of the leading scientists in the Gulf area. There was plenty to learn about the effects of the oil spill in this region and many stories were shared. One interesting story was that of Kerry St Pe who gave an incredibly informative talk on the condition of the wetlands and how they have been in a steady decline over the last several decades. The wetlands play a vital role in the ecosystem and specifically in recovery from catastrophic events such as Hurricanes and pollution. The amazing thing is how resilient they are when left alone vs. digging up the shoreline and removing flora and fauna and sand that may be contaminated with pollutants. Of course the most recent threat to the wetlands has been the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The remedy quite surprisingly enough appears to be to "Just leave them alone." Also amazing to us Kerry St. Pe did believe that using dispersants was actually a good thing. Read more about the wetlands here.
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