F &
lotsam Jetsam
Risky Business. PHOTO: THE U.S. COASTGUARD
ENVIRONMENT BY ALISON DYER
Gulf of Mexico oil continues to spew—at the time of writing—over 750,000 litres of crude a day into the ocean. Scientists believe this will top that of the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster of 1989 in which over 40 million litres spoiled the coastal environment off Alaska, costing billions of dollars in cleanup and lawsuits, and which continues to affect wildlife and the livelihoods of local peoples. Te Gulf slick currently covers an area as large as the states of Maryland
Black Waves T
and Delaware combined. It threatens hundreds of species of wildlife includ- ing birds and dolphins as well the U.S.’s most abundant sources of seafood. Also at stake are the delicate barrier island ecosystems off Lousiana
and associated wildlife such as the brown pelican (once almost extinct because of DDT use). Oil has already reached many kilometres into the fragile marshes that protect the land from the force of hurricanes and provide a nursery habitat for shrimp, fish and oysters. So far, the oil hasn’t hit Florida. Te state depends largely on tour-
ism for its economy and kayaking is part of that. “Tere’s a worry if the oil gets into the loop current in the Gulf, then it could deposit oil on the Keys and the east coast of Florida,” says Orlando-based expedition kayaker Greg Stamer. In addition, the pristine nature of the Keys and the sugar white sand
and low wave action of western Florida is a natural appeal to recreational kayakers. “If oil gets there, it’d be devastating,” says Stamer. Meanwhile, Chevron Canada has commenced work on the deepest oil
well ever drilled in Canadian waters. At an ocean depth of 2.4 kilome- tres (800 metres deeper than that of the Deepwater Horizon well), 435 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland in one of the harshest ocean environments and also one of the most biologically productive, Chevron prepares to drill for oil. Should a similar disaster hit the east coast of Newfoundland, kayak-
ers and naturalists are concerned about impacts on seabirds, migrating whales and other sea life.
ALISON DYER is a freelance environmental writer and avid sea kayaker, based in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
18 ADVENTURE KAYAK | SUMMER/FALL 2010
KAYAKING IN THE WAKE OF AN OILY DISASTER
he British Petroleum-owned Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank on April 20, 2010. From the well 1,600 metres below the
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