1. Dr. F. Gerald Plumley - Education Director of BIOS; Spoke to the physical and chemical characteristics of the oil, movement of the oil, currents in the Gulf, and the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic. He felt that much of the oil would be evaporated or diluted before it reached Bermuda. When it does reach here we could experience tar balls. Based on experiments with tracking currents and time, Bermuda might be impacted within 200-300 days.
2. Dr. Fred Ming - Director of Environmental Protection; Spoke as the Regulatory Arm regarding any compensation for Bermuda. He also spoke about the clean up process and the impact on the wildlife, especially the Sargasso Community.
3. Mr. William Griffith - Director of the Department of Tourism; Spoke on the BDOT's role as communicator with our tourists, getting the information out regarding the state of the beaches in an effort to minimize the impact on tourism.
4. Mr. Martin Law - Executive Director of the Bermuda Employers Council; Spoke about the impact on labour and business in Bermuda which he felt would be minimal.
5. Mr. William Fischer - Chief Executive Officer & President of AXIS Re Bermuda; Described the impact the spill would have on the Bermuda Insurance Market. He said that it could result in increased premiums for drilling related industries. He also feels there would be no damaging pay outs but could result in increased business for Bermuda.
We approached two members of the community who were present to get their views on this environmental catastrophe. Mr. Andrew Vaucrosson, President of Greenrock and Mr. Michael Burke owner of Blue Water Divers and “thegreenhousebermuda”. For the full interview please follow this link: http://www.bermudachamber.bm/document-centre/library/Sustainable%20Development%20Forum.pdf