by Dr. Quenton Dokken, GMF President/CEO
October 2010 - It has been a hectic summer! As the Foundation’s
restoration and
education
programs continued to grow, we were faced with the specter of the Macondo
Well blowout in April. I was in Mexico when this occurred, and having been
a lead field technician during the IXTOC I well blowout in 1979, I had a
good idea of what was about to transpire. All-in-all; I would have rather
stayed in Mexico until it was over. As soon as I hit the airport in
Cozumel for my return flight the phone began to ring, and it continued to
do so for the next four months.
We at the GMF took a position that reporting should be based on facts and
the whole truth. This was not always a popular stance, but I am glad we
did and would do the same if I were to do it again. Too often speculation
and half truths drove public opinion. In science, a question is asked, a
hypothesis is formulated to test the question, a methodology is
established to test the hypothesis, data is collected and analyzed, and a
truth is reported based on this scientific pursuit of facts. During the
Macondo response, too often the question was put on the front page as
fact. This only served to confuse us all.
Unfortunately, the GMF had to cancel its summer teacher programs,
Down
Under Out Yonder and the
Intracoastal Waterway Wetlands Cruise when our support
vessel, the M/V Fling, was recruited to assist with the oil spill response effort.
But don’t despair - we are already working on the 2011 teachers’ cruises.
For a small staff we cover a lot of territory. GMF's staff members are constantly moving
throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. And, I have agreed to assist
Marathon Oil with a fisheries development project in Equatorial Guinea on
the west coast of Africa. This sounds like a far stretch for the Gulf of
Mexico Foundation, but hurricanes and dust storms that impact the
Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico originate in this area of Africa. And, being
a Spanish-speaking country, it is a nice link to our
Science and Spanish
Club Network.
Hopefully by early 2011, I will be able to announce some very exciting
developments that will carry the GMF into the future. We are working on
developing and funding these projects, and I don’t want to jinx them by
exposing them too soon. I can say this: if we succeed in bringing these
projects to fruition they could potentially change and elevate marine
education and the public's awareness of it significantly.
Until next time, remember – the Gulf of Mexico Foundation is working to
establish and sustain the quality of life we desire for ourselves and for
our grandchildren. This quality of life requires both robust economies and
healthy environments. We need your help. Please
Donate to the GMF. Your support goes a long way to fulfilling the
mission of
the Gulf of Mexico Foundation.
-Dr. Quenton Dokken
GMF Executive Director
Gulf of Mexico Foundation - PMB 51, 5403 Everhart - Corpus Christi, TX 78411
(800) 884-4175 toll free - (361) 882-3939 phone - (361) 882-1262 fax
e-mail: info@gulfmex.org
website: gulfmex.org
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