Less than four months after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster began fouling Gulf waters, the Mobile Bay Group of the Sierra Club turned its August 3, 2010 meeting over to one of the region’s most vocal environmental watchdogs.
Aaron Viles, campaign director of the Gulf Restoration Network, led the program at 5 Rivers, Alabama’s Delta Resource Center in Spanish Fort — the facility on the Mobile Bay Causeway across from Meaher State Park. Admission was free and the general public was invited.
Watching the Cleanup — and the Government
Viles directed GRN campaigns on sustainable Gulf fisheries, climate issues and habitat protection, including the cypress forests of the Gulf region. In the wake of the spill, the organization was independently monitoring cleanup and containment work, pushing for a more effective and transparent response from government and industry, and advocating for a Citizens Advisory Committee that would let tourism, fishing and environmental communities keep watch on the oil industry.
GRN was also engaging with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus as the Obama administration drafted a new Gulf Coast restoration plan. Viles hoped Mabus would bundle together existing restoration plans that had gone unfunded before the disaster, so money would not be diverted from long-promised projects.