Responding to the Flow

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LUMCON. Larry Rouse and Vince Wilson, both professors in the School of the Coast & Environment, received an NSF rapid response grant to develop the Online Clearinghouse for Education and Networking – Oil Interdisciplinary Learning, called OCEAN-OIL, a peer-reviewed collection of scientific information and educational resources about the Deepwater Horizon disaster and its broader energy and environmental issues. OCEAN-OIL is a collaborative, community-driven effort by scientists, teachers and concerned citizens. The website is comprehensive and user-friendly, featuring hundreds of multimedia pieces such as articles, photos and videos about topics relating to the spill and its impact. Although researchers at LSU – like those at institutions across the country – had trouble getting funding to flow in the beginning, the research that has been resulting from their efforts is diverse and widespread through the sciences and humanities. The process of peer-reviewed science is long, but the results and their implications will be worth the wait. Determining the full impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the deepwater and coastal environments – and on the people of the Gulf Coast region – will likely take decades. But thanks to talented and dedicated researchers like those at LSU, whatever the determination might be, solutions will be developed to help the long-term recovery process and prevent disasters of this magnitude from happening in the future.


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