Melissa McGinnis, a Los Angeles-based green producer, has taken several trips around various regions in the Gulf.
She told the Examiner that at the advent of the spill, last spring, her trip was oddly enjoyable. Going out on a boat or walking the shore was so blissful that it was hard to imagine what had really occurred there. "The environment was pristine."
Cut to her next trip.
"When I returned it was like a ghost town; the smell of dispersants was heavily in the air," McGinnis said.
She got sick from the oil just reporting on events there, "and I'm not a hypochondriac." McGinnis quoted toxicologist Riki Ott, who's covering the area for several media outlets (http://www.rikiott.com). Ott said everyone needs to evacuate, it's that bad.
McGinnis recently left the area, but not before she made friends with several of the local fishermen up and down the Gulf, reporting for her popular Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenopolisTV.
In her reporting, McGinnis has met other interesting and remarkable people including Captain Lori the Dolphin Lady, who says that she's protecting the dolphins. They hear her boat and know the sound of her voice.
"She's trying to protect as many dolphins as possible," McGinnis says on camera, pointing out that Lori has a lot of fear about what's going on. Indeed, dolphins have been lethargic, "surfacing slowly," says Lori. She has worked on the water with the dolphins for so long that they are like family, even having names.
"We've established a rapport," says Lori. "They know when they hear the boat and my voice that with that comes safety."
She feels an obligation, that they depend on her and have even come to her when they are sick.
"These pristine mammals have given so much to the tourists and me," Lori says. "Now I plan to give something back."
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Capt. Lori's Dolphin Cruises: http://www.dolphinqueencruises.com/contact.html
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