Visit to Cat Island (47th Day of the BP Oil Spill)

Video of oil specialist Rick Steiner’s visit to Cat Island.

Off the Louisiana Coast, on Cat Island, brown pelicans, white pelicans, and other sea birds who nest there are struggling to survive. The BP oil spill has affected a critical nesting habitat and the outcome is depressing.

Despite the obvious distress these birds are in, they are left to fend for themselves as the oil closes in on their habitat. They face difficulty flying, which means they cannot find food to eat. They are ingesting oil while trying to preen it off their feathers and for those lucky enough to find food, that is coated with oil as well. These birds are ingesting oil, resulting in toxicity and death.

It is clear that incompetence and negligence on our part have and will cause devastation and suffering for these bird species as well as many other wildlife species that call the Gulf of Mexico and its surrounding areas home.