An Assessment of the Resilience of Alabama Coastal Communities Affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Christopher Lupoli, PhD student, Forestry, School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences Emily McDade, Junior, BS, Pre-Nursing, School of Nursing

Figure 1. Fishing boats in Bayou La Batre harbor, Bayou La Batre, AL (Worosz, Oct 2008).

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill generated severe environmental, economic, and sociological consequences for the Gulf Coast communities. Media attention concentrated on sensationalist images and impacts which were immediate, visible, and of interest to the general public. Long-term human health consequences and the recovery process for communities were largely ignored by the media. Mental health impacts received inadequate attention due to their low visibility and poorly understood nature, leading to reduced resilience capacity for affected communities. Many affected fishing communities consist of ethnic minority populations of Southeast Asian descent, and their resilience capacity is limited due to cultural and linguistic barriers and misunderstandings which impede the recovery process. A comparison with the social implications of previous natural disasters and theoretical underpinnings of environmental justice allow for these sociocultural impacts to be understood as a repetitive historical process and provide suggestions for how to better promote human resilience to environmental disasters. View the Poster

The ABC's of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Angling, Birding, and Crude

Brent Williams, MS student, Wildlife, School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences
Craig Roberts, MS student, Fisheries, Department of Fisheries & Allied Aquacultures

Figure 2. Oil spill barriers at Ft. Morgan, Ft. Morgan, AL (Worosz, 12 Jun 2010).

Tourism that is sustainable, nature-based, and beneficial to local communities is known as ecotourism. Alabama’s Mobile and Baldwin counties rely on their natural resources to boost and sustain tourist numbers in this niche. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill impacted ecotourism greatly, reducing beach tourism in the region by as much as 50%. A sample of ecotourism related newspaper articles were collected and examined for trends related specifically to the oil spill, angling, and birding because research suggests that media portrayals can impact public perception. Data collected shows a prevalence of local newspaper coverage and an absence of regional, national, and international newspaper coverage. A chronological examination of the framing and discourse in these articles revealed shifts in tone and language to describe areas impacted by the oil spill in coastal Alabama. View the Poster

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and its Effects on Economic Growth

Dave King, MS candidate, Community Planning, School of Architecture
Darrell Rigsby, MS student, Geography, Department of Geology & Geography
Lindsey Mercer, Senior, BA, Interior Design, Department of Consumer Affairs

Figure 3. Visible tar, and no visitors, at Florida Point Beach, near Orange Beach, AL (Worosz, 13 Jun 2010).

The Alabama Gulf Coast has been heavily impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. This poster focuses on economic growth, specifically related to tourism, real estate, and tax revenues and their relation to this disaster on Alabama’s coastal communities. Based on a media content analysis, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has stunted the economic growth of Alabama and will potentially have economic impacts for many years. The content analysis showed Baldwin and Mobile counties suffered because of the lack of tourism related spending resulting in many ripple effects throughout the local region and the state. According to the media, the oil spill has reduced tourism related spending resulting in reduced local and state tax revenues and stagnant real estate performance. Our findings show Alabama is highly reliant on coastal tourism spending and a lack of spending along the gulf coast has many implications for Alabama’s economic vitality. View the Poster

Hospitality: Do they mix? A Look at the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill’s Affects on the Hospitality Industry along Alabama’s Gulf Coast

Will Faulkner, Junior BS, Pre-Landscape Architecture, Department of Horticulture
Andrea Riddle, Senior BS, Agricultural Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology
Katie Williams; MS student, Rural Sociology, Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology

Figure 4. Unrented property in the Little Lagoon region, Gulf Shores, AL (Worosz, 12 Jun 2010).

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill affected the hospitality industry of Alabama’s gulf coast. Content analysis of media reports shows that the oil did impact the real estate, vacation rentals, restaurants and local businesses of the area. Immediately following the release of media reports that “oil was everywhere”, tourism numbers along the coast declined. Fortunately, the oil spill’s affects on the areas mentioned above were not permanent. The media have claimed that the number of home or condominium sales and rentals has slowly begun to climb back to pre-oil spill levels, and tourists have begun to come back to the beaches and taking part in the local cuisine and retail. The media have also claimed that all these areas of the hospitality industry have returned to near or almost near pre-oil spill levels, due in part to proactive public relations campaigns sponsored by local tourism bureaus. View the Poster

Skimming the Surface of Science: Scale Framing of the Ecological Impacts of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill along the Alabama Coast

Charles Griffith, Senior, BA, Product Design, Department of Industrial & Graphic Design
Carlos F. Ruiz, MSc student, Fisheries, Department of Fisheries & Allied Aquacultures

Figure 5.Visit to Dr. Prabhakar Clement’s labatory to learn about hydrocarbons from the oil spill.

The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has initiated a case study aimed to describe the media’s portrayal of scientific views concerning the ecological impacts of the spill on the Alabama coast. Newspaper media sources were scrutinized to describe 1) the abundance of scientific views and their occurrence across sources, 2) the general viewpoints of scientists and their credibility, 3) and the potential target audiences. Peer-reviewed literature was analyzed to determine the role of scale framing as it relates to public perception. Findings include a strong presence of scientific sources across newspapers with the same sources in multiple papers. A mixture of target audiences was identified for the majority of printed media. Additionally, views expressed by scientists were shown to decrease in negativity as time progressed. Scale framing is determined to contain multiple factors that elucidate targeted audiences and their perceptions including scientific uncertainty and socio-political, economic, and cultural factors. View the Poster

Student working on a computer
Figure 1. Students working on their data.