Graham Center hosts panel discussion on impact from BP oil spill

September 8, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The impact of the BP oil spill on the region’s land and water resources will be the subject of an expert panel Sept. 14 at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

“The Impact to the Land and the Sea from the Gulf Oil Disaster” will take place at 7 p.m. in Pugh Hall’s Ocora. It will feature three of the Sunshine State’s leading experts on coastal habitats, the Everglades, the economy and the Gulf of Mexico.

Hosting the discussion will be Jim Murley, chairman of the Florida Energy & Climate Commission, a former Secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs and director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University; Edith Widder, Ocean Research and Conservation Association senior scientist and CEO; and Ian MacDonald, Florida State University professor of oceanography.

The BP spill, the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history, released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil in the Gulf before the damaged Deepwater Horizon drilling rig was finally capped in August. But the effects of the spill on Florida’s economy, plant and animal wildlife, as well as its people, are still being felt.

“Florida made the decision a number of years ago that our economic interests were going to be in the protection of our coasts,” said former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, who is co-chairman of the presidential commission investigating the oil spill. “The Panhandle beaches are some of the most beautiful and pristine in the world. But they’re at risk because the federal policies have proven to be ineffective and insufficient to protect these coasts.”

Scientists and government officials are still examining and debating the permanent damage from the spill, and it’s not known how much oil is still loose in the Gulf. Meanwhile, damage claims from fishermen, hotels, restaurants and other businesses affected by the spill are coming in and could eventually top $20 billion. The spill has raised profound questions about the effects of deep-sea offshore oil drilling, government regulation and the importance of science in pursuing public policy.

“I think the spill is playing itself out in a way that I think people may be able to identify more with what are the costs of a carbon-based economy,” said Murley, one of the state’s leading experts on growth management.

This panel discussion will also be streamed live on Sept. 14 from the Bob Graham Center website, www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.

The Bob Graham Center provides students with opportunities to train for future leadership positions, meet policymakers and take courses in critical thinking, language learning and studies of world cultures. Its mission is to foster public leadership and solve issues related to the Americas and homeland security. It also serves as a magnet to attract distinguished scholars and speakers to Florida.