Oil spill may affect South Florida (Multiple outlets)

Nova Southeastern University hosted a forum on June 16 to discuss the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  Panelists included:

• Richard Dodge, Ph.D., dean of NSU’s Oceanographic Center (View PowerPoint presentation)
• Alexander Soloviev, Ph.D., associate professor at NSU’s Oceanographic Center (View PowerPoint presentation)
• Robert Jarvis, professor  of law at NSU’s Shepard Broad Law Center (View PDF presentation)
• Jorge Pinon, former president of Amoco Oil Latin America and former BP executive (View PowerPoint presentation)
• David Mica, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Council (View PowerPoint presentation)

Watch video of the panel discussion:

• Part 1: Panel introductions
• Part 2: Presentation by David Mica
• Part 3: Presentations by Drs. Richard Dodge and Alexander Soloviev
• Part 4: Presentation by Robert Jarvis
• Part 5: Presentation by Jorge Pinon
• Part 6: Questions and Answers

Sampling of NSU Experts in the Media
“We watch helplessly as the Deep Water Horizon oil nightmare continues. Relief is months away. And though we have yet to see the oil arrive at our South Florida shores, immense damage to the coastal ecosystems in the Northern Gulf has occurred. Birds have died. Fisheries are tainted. Spawning fish, including bluefin tuna, are at risk. Highly productive marshes are coated with oil.” — Op-ed by Richard Dodge, Ph.D., dean of NSU’s Oceanographic Center (Sun-Sentinel)

I moderated a panel on the oil spill at Nova Southeastern University this week, and walked away from it more pessimistic than ever. I usually don’t bet against America, but weaning ourselves off fossil fuels anytime soon is about the closest thing to a losing proposition. (Sun-Sentinel)

A former BP executive taking part in a Nova Southeastern University forum on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill urged U.S. consumers to take responsibility for their massive levels of oil consumption — consumption that, he said, drives the business of offshore drilling. (Miami Herald)

Scientists at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center fear that the Gulf oil spill will reach South Florida waters and impact fisheries, wildlife, and beaches. (Miami Herald)

Richard Dodge, director of the National Coral Reef Institute at Nova Southeastern University, said oil has many toxins for corals that could cause reproductive problems, bleaching and death. “In Panama, for example, there was a major refinery spill some time ago,” he said. “Even though that oil was thought to be primarily floating, there were some severe impacts to the reefs.” (Sun-Sentinel)

Richard Dodge, director of the Oceanographic Center and National Coral Reef Institute at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, said that corals, a combination of animals and plants, are affixed to the ocean floor, like sea grass.  “So floating oil on top of the water can be benign,” he said. “But it depends on the duration and the frequency.  Oil can dissolve in the water column and have toxic materials, if you have a big spill or chronic spills.” (Los Angeles Times)

A full 84 percent of coral reefs in the U.S. are in Florida, said Richard Dodge, a coral reef biologist with Nova Southeastern University. These reefs can also be affected by oil, albeit of the diluted-in-water kind.  “We know there’s a slick, but we also know that there is a lot of emulsified oil. That oil typically doesn’t float,” Dodge said. “If that is significant, that could have some direct affect on some coral reefs … dispersed oil is very toxic to coral reefs.” (Naples Daily News)

A stream of oil – which could easily be 100 miles long – would be pulled around Florida, damaging Coral Reef, devastating the Keys and reaching Palm Beach within two weeks.  “That could schmear oil all the way along the west coast and the keys and conceivably the East Coast,” said Richard Dodge, the dean of the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center. (Palm Beach Post)

NSU Experts on Oil Spill
The following experts at NSU are available to media for analysis of the oil spill and its impact:

Richard Dodge, Ph.D.
Professor and Dean, NSU Oceanographic Center
Executive Director, National Coral Reef Institute

For an interview with Dr. Dodge or other scientists at NSU’s Oceanographic Center, please contact Ken Ma, associate director of public affairs, at 954-262-5408 or ken.ma@nova.edu.

Joel Mintz
Professor, NSU’s Shepard Broad Law Center
Specializes in environmental law and policy and environmental enforcement

For an interview with Professor Mintz, please contact Alan Hancock, associate director of public affairs, at 954-262-5385 or hancocka@nova.edu.