By now, most of the country has forgotten about the oily disaster that ruled media headlines during the summer of 2010. People have returned to their busy lives and careers, occasionally seeing a story here and there about the recovering Gulf coast, but for the most part it has become a thing of the past. But for Gulf coast residents, the effects still linger. And although the oil can no longer be seen, the pain is still felt.

 It may seem that the Gulf coast’s main problem is solely environmental. But the real problem residents now face is the fear left behind in the wake of the disaster; the fear that the seafood is toxic, the fear that the water is contaminated, the fear that has seriously eroded the main source of income for the Gulf coast: tourism. Due to this fear, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach (along with other Gulf coast communities) have been thrown into survival mode and are struggling economically. But by taking a closer look one discovers that most of these fears are based on faulty assumptions.

I recently visited Dr. George Crozier, a well-known marine biologist and Executive Director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Dauphin Island, Alabama. He believes that the combination of media exposure with a lack of trust in the government has magnified the detrimental affects from the oil spill. When the media is constantly showing and discussing the effects of the oil, our common reaction is to immediately conclude that the seafood is contaminated and that Gulf waters are toxic. For example, Dr. Crozier commented that numerous tests on the contamination of Gulf fish all had negative results, meaning no contamination was found. Yet, he says, “When scientists report these findings to the public they plainly look us in the eye and say they don’t believe us, they think the government is lying to them.”

Research has shown that although carbon coming from the oil has been found in the bacterial organisms in the Gulf, the fish have not been affected. When fish are exposed to and feed on potentially toxic matter, over time most toxins are stored in the liver. But, the meat of the fish (the part that is eaten) is totally unaffected. Scientists may begin to see accumulations of toxins in sea life over a longer period of time, such as 10 to 20 years, but at this point in time it is not an issue.

As for swimming in the water, it also is not a concern. Natural oil seeps have been leaking oil into the Gulf for years. Although these seeps have leaked much smaller amounts, oil itself is nothing new when it comes to the Gulf of Mexico. My dad, uncle, and aunt have told me stories about when they used to go to the beach as children and their dad would bring turpentine to help get oil off of their feet after stepping in it. “When I was younger and I was with my friends down at the beach, we would occasionally step on a tar-ball here and there but it was not considered toxic,” my dad said. “We would just go wash our feet off and go back down to the beach again.” Plus, it’s clear when visiting the Gulf region that the waters are crystal clear and the sand has been thoroughly deep cleaned several times over.

But what about the dispersants? Perhaps the most worrisome component of the Gulf oil spill is the unknown effects of the dispersants that were sprayed into the Gulf during the early cleanup panic to make the oil “disappear.” It is widely thought that some of these dispersants were more poisonous than the oil itself, but this is also a false assumption. Dr. Crozier’s reading indicates that most of the dispersants that were sprayed into the Gulf were made of what is found in dishwashing detergent and exposure to this substance causes no adverse effects to humans.

So the public seems to be in limbo between facts, assumptions, rumors, and faulty information, much of it attributed to the Internet. What are we left to do? The answer is: trust the experts. This is what scientists do. Their lives are devoted to finding the truth.  Trust the scientists and experts who not only do what they do for a living, but because they care; trust the facts.

After the September 11 attacks, many people experienced a serious fear of flying and traveling. But, after 9/11, flying became safer than it has ever been due to increased security measures. Ironically, after the Gulf oil spill, the seafood and beaches are safer than they have been in years. Because of constant testing, the seafood is beyond safe; because of the deep cleaning of Gulf coast beaches, not only is there a lack of oil but also a lack of occasional broken glass and other dangerous materials; and because of desperately needed benefit concerts, entertainment and music has never been as strong in the Gulf coast area as it is now.

The real recovery for has not yet begun, but will truly take place with the arrival of spring break and eventually summer. Although the summer of 2010 was one that tested the survival and spirit of the Gulf coast residents, the area will without a doubt survive and, in my opinion, flourish to a greater level than before. I say this because when looking at the facts, there’s nothing to fear. And trusting the facts is the key to a Gulf coast recovery.

Basch Jernigan writes a regular column that is published weekly in the Baldwin People section of all Gulf Coast (Alabama) Newspapers. He attends Gulf Shores High School in Gulf Shores, Alabama.