Gulf Coast Voices

"Last summer there arose, in many of us, an intrinsic need to protect this living breathing home that we call Earth. Each one of us makes an impact on our environment and each other."

“I hope I can help birds to stay alive and be there for me to see them.”

"We have to stay on top of this; don’t get complacent. It may cost them more money, but you can’t put a price tag on nature. Once a species is gone, it’s gone."

“There were lots of times that I thought to myself, ‘I’m doing a seven-hour round trip for a seagull. Am I crazy?’ But every bird is important."

"I’m on the water almost every day. That’s how I earn my living. And right now, it’s a real tough road."

“As we grow up, it increasingly becomes our responsibility to preserve our natural resources. Our generation has been exposed to, and educated on, how important our environment is and how our actions affect it. Now, the future is in our hands."

"In Mississippi, we [were] relatively lucky in terms of the amount of oil washed up on shore. We did find one brown pelican that was pretty heavily oiled and taken into rehab…."

"I’ve never seen such a strong sense of community anywhere else, and right now, I see an opportunity for the people of the Gulf Coast to have a say in what happens next on the road to long term restoration of the Gulf."

 “I hope that the Gulf will be as beautiful as it was before the spill, and I hope that people will come together to make it that way.”

"Having a small role even, doing the transport, kind of alleviated some of that feeling of desperation and helplessness."

"I don’t ever want to see any more oil covered birds or see it on our beaches ever again. I hope that we can rebuild the bird’s habitats."

"The Gulf is forgiving, but it may not be healthy again for many years to come. It’s all about balance.”