NEW GRN VIDEO: Shrimpers and Scientists Agree - End of Well isn't End of Oil, Impacts

 "Gulf Tides: Oiled Water, Oiled Waste" is the newest video in the Gulf Restoration Network's ongoing series documenting the BP drilling disaster, and delves into the issues of impacted fish populations and oil waste. More than fifteen times the Exxon-Valdez spill's worth of oil was spewed into Gulf waters over a span of more than three months, and nearly two million gallons of dispersants were used. Where is all that oil and dispersant now?

If you're like me you were relieved to get the news that BP's well had finally been killed.  But despite that good news, oil continues to wash ashore along the Gulf coast, and information about how hard the Gulf has been hit by BP's disaster is slow in coming.

In the video, you'll hear fishermen, shrimpers, scientists and communities' concerns about oil and chemical impacts on the Gulf's fish and wildlife populations, despite early testing which approved opening areas in the Gulf for fishing. We have a lot to learn from the Exxon-Valdez spill off Alaska's coast, where oil is still being found twenty years later, and local fish populations still haven't recovered.  

Contrary to what BP would have us believe, the oil hasn't just disappeared. Watch as two Mississippi fishermen pull up oil from their 'clean' fishing grounds.  Dig a few inches into a Louisiana beach, and you will find it. Meanwhile, BISCO's David Gauthe digs into what happens to the oil after it's been "cleaned" from the coast - see what he finds in Episode 7 of Gulf Tides.

This episode features great local music from NOLA's MyNameIsJohnMichael and the Honey Island Swamp Band.  We are once again honored to have Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins help with narration.

So please watch the video, and learn more about the remaining challenges facing the Gulf. Then, visit the website at the bottom of the video to urge Congress to act now and learn the lessons of the BP disaster.

Aaron Viles is the Gulf Restoration Network's campaign director, and an advisor to the Gulf Coast Fund. Follow him on twitter @GulfAaron.