Recent reports of Florida’s governor, Charlie Crist, inspecting the beaches of Miami seem to be more of a photo oops than anything else. Obviously, I’m sure he’s concerned with his state, the revenue lost from canceled vacations, and the impending negative effects environmental disaster from the BP oil spill, it remains curious, though, why he hasn’t been back to the Gulf coast since early June. Instead he has recently traveled to Miami and Disney World–in central Florida–to address the spill. Yes, he’s touting that Florida’s hot spots are safe, but more attention needs to be paid by the governor to the Gulf coast.
Meanwhile, the Florida beach report states:
The beaches and waters at tourist hot spots like Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island are open, according to the Emerald Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, which represents the three destinations.
“The air here is also still fresh and clean, with no smell of oil whatsoever,” the bureau’s website said.
This beaches may very well be open, but the conditions of the beaches are debatable. Swimmers I have interviewed at Destin have reported being covered in a gloss of oil after swimming in the Gulf, the water is not clear, and piles of oil-soaked dead seaweed have washed up on the shore.
Additionally, this is what the Destin shore looks on June 17, 2010. This picture is not algea, it is of oil-soaked seaweed washing up on the beaches in large quantities.
They may want to change the beach report and Governor Crist, you may want to schedule another trip up to the panhandle for evaluation purposes and get some engineers and other experts in to protect your state.