Dr. Ott will speak about the Deepwater Horizon spill-its impacts on people, the Gulf and the future

On June 26th, the South Walton Community Council will sponsor a public forum on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The guest speaker, Riki Ott, is a community activist, a former commercial salmon “fisherm’am,” and has a doctorate in marine toxicology with a specialty in oil pollution. Living in Alaska, she experienced firsthand the devastating effects of the  Exxon Valdez oil spill—and chose to devote much of her time and passion to trying to do something about it. She is now meeting with groups throughout the Gulf to provide knowledge and support as the Deepwater Horizon spill so closely parallels many of the issues faced in Alaska.

Dr. Ott is the author of  Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and  Not One Drop: Promises, Betrayal, and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (Chelsea Green, 2008). She is also the founder of three nonprofit organizations that deal with lingering harm from man-made environmental disaster.

Dr. Ott will be speaking at the Walton County Coastal Branch Library this Saturday, June 26th at 9 am. The meeting is free and open to the public. The library is located at 437 Greenway Trail (near the courthouse on U.S. 331 south of the Bay).

Please come out and learn about oil, dispersants, and what to expect, health wise for people and the ocean and estuary ecosystem as the oil continues to gush and spread throughout the Gulf.

The meeting will end in plenty of time for those who are going to the beach for the Hands Across the Sand 
global gathering for clean energy and the end of coastal and offshore drilling.