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It’s been a hundred days since oil began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico forcing an enormous response effort from BP, the state, and volunteers. Now the leak has been capped and the oil is dissipating. But as Whitney Ray tells us, the state is still fighting to get claims paid, bring in visitors, and sell Florida seafood.

The leak is capped but the state’s fight to attract tourists, help the fishing industry rebound and protect the coast still rages.

Florida’s Emergency Operations Center has been at a level one activation since June 2nd, and will remain so for the near future.

“Fortunately there’s not a lot of heavy oil offshore, but there still is tar balls, there’s some weathered oil,” said Phil Wieczynsk, with the Bureau of Emergency Response.

The oil slick is shrinking daily but still threatens wildlife. Biologists are moving panhandle sea turtle nests to keep the hatchlings from swimming into the oil.

There’s still a tourism crisis. On July 18th, Visit Florida ran out of money from BP for its fight to let travelers know Florida beaches are clean.

The tourism agency waits to see if BP will cough up more cash.

“The dollars are out so we are hoping BP will come back and grant the governor the additional 50 million dollars to help with that campaign,” said Will Seccombe with Visit Florida.

At the height of the crisis a third of the gulf was closed to fishing; now just a fourth is closed. The FDA and Florida Department of Agriculture have a mobile testing lab on standby in Tallahassee, ready to do onsite tests in areas where the oil once floated.

“The samples from those areas will be subjected to both the sensory testing as well as the lab analysis,” said Terry McElroy with the Department of Agriculture.

The major fear for environmentalists now is what’s out of sight is out of mind. While experts think the risk of large amounts of oil washing ashore is low, what’s going on underneath the surface could affect fish populations for decades.

The state legislature is working on legislation to help people who have lost business and property values because of the oil leak. They plan to meet in a special session in September and pass laws that would help ease the burden for those Floridians hit the hardest.

Environmentalist Reaction

In early May, biologists and environmental experts began to worry that the BP oil spill would impact the coast for decades to come. Today, 100 days later, things are getting better. The leak has been stopped. The oil slick is shrinking, and most experts believe no more large pools of oil will wash up on any Florida beaches. Despite the good news, Julie Wraithmell with Audubon of Florida, says this disaster isn’t over because the chemicals used to break up the oil, and the oil itself, have altered the food chain.

“At the same time we all breathed a huge sigh of relief to hear they got the flow under control, it doesn’t minimize the fact that there as been a lot of oil spilled and is going to persist in that system for a long period of time,” said Wraithmell.

Florida State University and other research groups were able to collect some samples of marine life, sand, and soil before the oil reached beaches, providing a baseline to compare future samples with.

Spain has now outpaced the United States to become the world top producer of solar energy.

This week the country opened the largest solar power plant in the world. They named it… get this… “La Florida”… just a coincidence… but alternative energy advocates, like Karen Woodall, hope the Sunshine State takes the name as a sign that it needs to ramp up its production of renewable energy resources.

“At least someone recognizes that we are the sunshine state and ought to be harnessing solar energy power. Maybe we will follow the lead,” said Woodall.

For two years running Florida’s solar rebate program has failed to deliver on promised rebates for people who installed panels in their homes. Right now 10-thousand people are waiting on rebate checks. Legislation filed for next week’s special session would set aside 150 million dollars for solar and other alternative forms of energy.

BP is refusing to give the state more money for advertising, and the 25 million dollar advertising grant the company gave Florida in early June runs out this weekend. As Whitney Ray tells us, promoting Florida’s clean beaches may soon fall into the hands of coastal businesses and area chambers of commerce.

Sunday, several ads promoting Florida’s clean beaches will be pulled. Money from BP to let travelers know their oil hasn’t spoiled Florida yet is running dry, and the oil giant isn’t willing to cough up any more cash to spread the message.

Governor Charlie Crist sent a letter to BP asking for 50 million dollars to run ads trough the summer. BP responded with this letter saying “no way.”

In it BP questions the effectiveness of spending money promoting the entire state and encourages area advertising. Crist isn’t giving up.

“We are responding to their letter, trying to force them to do the right thing. Like they say in their commercials, ‘do the right thing.’ Well the right thing would be to give us the opportunity to market our state,” said Crist.

Visit Florida, the state’s tourism agency, is digging into its own pockets to get the ‘Open For Business’ message to travelers. But Visit Florida says it’s a 10 million dollar a month job, and the agency doesn’t have that kind of cash.

“Without support from BP or otherwise we are going to have to get real creative to do that,” Thompson.

While BP is cutting off the cash flow to help promote Florida, the oil giant is cutting no corners in its own efforts to improve its tarnished image; full page newspaper ads, TV commercials, and internet marketing… are costing the company millions.

BP is catching heat for spending money and resources to improve its image, while the environment and coastal businesses are suffering because of its oil leak. Still the company continues to run ads and isn’t disclosing how many millions it’s pumping into its marketing campaign.

Legislative leaders, forced to come back to Tallahassee for a special session on oil drilling, may use the opportunity to work on more than just a drilling ban. Since the announcement, as Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers have been busy thinking of other ways to use the session.

Governor Charlie Crist was very clear when he called lawmakers back to Tallahassee to consider a constitutional ban on offshore oil drilling.

“This is a rifle shot. This is one issue. This is very tightly drafted,” Crist said

But Crist’s wishes don’t carry as much weight as they did before he broke with the Republican Party to run for office as an independent. Once lawmakers get back on this floor anything could happen. They’re likely to vote for some form of a drilling ban, but they may also take up other issues.

The negotiations have already begun to shorten the ban to five years. Legislative leaders may also rewrite a redistricting amendment a judge kicked off the ballot. Representative Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda is filing legislation to set a state renewable energy goal and to create incentives for people to use alternative energy.

“Now is the time. Now I think Floridians feel it. They know what we need to do. I think they know that we need to have alternative energy sources, and actually it’s another way to get people back to work,” said Rehwinkel Vasilinda.

Democrats are supporting the push to use the special session to promote renewable energy.

“If we can bring forth a renewable portfolio standard at the same time we are in session, then I think the citizens really get a bang for their buck,” said Williams.

Whatever happens in the special session, it’s likely to follow lawmakers through November when voters will decides who gets to keep their seat. The special session is scheduled to run from July 20th, through the 23rd. If the constitutional ban on drilling in state water is going to make it onto the November ballot, lawmakers will have to approve the resolution before August 4th.

Why Supporters Say a Constitutional Ban is Needed

Opponents of a special session to put a constitutional ban on offshore oil drilling on the November ballot says it’s not needed. Their reasoning: Florida already has a ban on drilling in state waters. But supporters of the constitutional ban say the current law isn’t strong enough, and they point to last years vote by the state House to lift the ban. Eric Draper of Audubon Florida says putting the ban in the state constitution would keep lawmakers from caving into pressure from oil lobbyist to lift the ban.

“Because the legislature voted to eliminate the ban on drilling in Florida’s waters, that’s why we need to put it in the constitution. We need to make it permanent so that you can’t have the oil industry coming in here, buying off legislators, and changing the law. That’s what happened last year,” said Draper.

The House voted to give the governor and state cabinet the authority to lift the ban, but the state Senate never voted on the issue; thus killing the measure.

More than 250 Florida birds have been released into the wild after almost losing their lives in the BP oil spill. Governor Charlie Crist helped release three this morning at a panhandle lake, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the survival rate for de-oiled birds is really low, and cleaning the birds may be more of a publicity stunt than an environmental benefit.

Three birds from Perdido Key, caught in the BP oil nest, washed and rehabilitated, are about to be released into clean water…200 miles from their home.

But the odds are against the animals. Experts believe only 10 percent of the birds who are cleaned and released will make it through an entire year. Still, the effort to save even the smallest number is massive.

“Right now we’ve got 20 boat crews out, ready to answer the call,” Nick Wiley with the Florid Wildlife Commission said. “We’ve got right now, last I heard, ready to ramp up 16 on the beach response teams that will have ATV’s and vehicles.”

The state has a hotline for people who spot oiled birds. The goal: have a crew on the scene within an hour of getting the report.

Once rescued, it will take a team of veterinarians, nurses, and biologist, plus 300 gallons of water and dish soap to clean one bird.

Survival once they’re released depends on how badly they were oiled and the species.

“I’m highly confident that these guys are going to go out there and survive,” Dr. Heidi Stout said.

Wildlife experts say the technology to save oiled birds has improved over the past decade. But survival still depends largely on the resiliency of the species and how badly they were hit by oil.

There’s a number to call if you see a bird or any other animal covered in oil.  The Oiled Wildlife Hotline number is 866-557-1401.  The state is promising to have rescue crews on the scene within one hour of receiving a call.

300 sea turtle eggs from panhandle beaches are in an 18-wheeler headed to Cape Canaveral and away from the oil. Today the first of 700 sea turtle nests were moved in an effort to keep the BP oil spill from killing the hatchlings. Wildlife experts are going to great lengths to protect the eggs during the trip, but As Whitney Ray tells us, less than half are expected to make it to the east coast alive.

It took a little over an hour to dig these sea turtle eggs out of the sand and place them one by one in Styrofoam coolers.

A team of wildlife experts worked diligently to keep the turtle embryos from breaking loose from their shells.

The delicate cargo was then loaded into this FedEx Truck, where it will be up to the drivers to take the eggs to the east coast and away from oil.

Moving the eggs is a gamble. Early estimates showed only one out of every five eggs surviving the seven hour trip. After a test run, wildlife experts now think as many as half could make it.

Joe Reedy, quality control coordinator for FedEx Shipping Technician Joe Reedy says the trick is keeping the truck at a constant temperature of 85 degrees and stabilizing the eggs so they don’t move too much.

“We have a temperature control mechanisms in place and air shock suspension as well has cushions under the pallets,” said Reedy.

The closest oil plum is still about 100 miles to the west and no oil is on this coast; which brings into question the wisdom of moving the eggs now.

But Wildlife Experts says there’s no telling where the oil will be in 10 days when the eggs are scheduled to hatch. FedEx will be moving sea turtle eggs through August. They baby turtles will hatch in an artificial nest at Cape Canaveral, and be released into the Atlantic at night, when fewer predators are lurking to eat the hatchlings.

Crews have spent the lat several days in a Panhandle warehouse, making preparations for the unprecedented move of as many as 70 thousand sea turtle eggs threatened by oil. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, biologists believe the move will give the turtles the best chance of survival.

Some sea turtle nests will begin being moved as early as next week, once they reach their 50th day.

In this Fish and Wildlife Service warehouse in Panama City, a crew from the Sea Turtle Conservancy is washing and drilling holes in styrofoam coolers that will be used to move the eggs.

“And because they’re eggs, reptile eggs, they do need air to survive,” Sea Turtle Conservancy marine biologist Dan Evans said. “And that’s why nests in the wild that are flooded multiple times don’t survive”

The intruding oil promises almost certain destruction to an entire generation of turtles if they are allowed to hatch and swim into the oil.

“They’re essentially seeking the same currents that are catching all the oil,” Gary Appleson with the Sea Turtle Conservancy said. “So they’re going to be immediately interacting with oil.”

Specially designed pallets will be loaded with the coolers.

Then transported 450 miles to Cape Canaveral.

While they are transporting the coolers, biologists also have to worry about controlling temperature and humidity.

Moving the nests comes with plenty of risk…but the risk outweighs any other options  says the Fish and Wildlife Service.

“It has never been done before,” Lorna Patrick with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. “This is an extraordinary circumstance so we think that extraordinary measures are needed.”

Even under normal conditions few hatchlings survive predators and the elements, now they will also have to survive being moved.

State and Federal officials have hatched a plan to move thousands of sea turtle eggs from the Florida panhandle to the oil free east coast to protect the hatchlings. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, moving eggs is a risky proposition at best.

From the last week of July through early September, tens of thousands of sea turtles would normally hatch along Panhandle coasts and make their way into the Gulf. Bill Wargo and 20 volunteers scour Alligator Point every morning looking for new sea turtle nests.

Wargo says the plan is to move the eggs when they are about  50 days old or ten days before their scheduled hatchling.

“We will very careful, and I mean very carefully, dig into the nests and pull those eggs out as gently as possible, without rotating them,” Wargo said.

The eggs will be transported to the oil-free east coast and released into the Atlantic. It is unclear whether the hatchlings, which instinctively come back to the nesting area when it is time for them to lay eggs, will come back to the panhandle or where they were released.

“They get magnetic signals and may, even if we move them to Cape Canaveral, which is the plan, they may return to where we gather them,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Spokesperson Henry Cabbage said.

“This is one of the first nests of the season. These eggs are due to be dug up on August 11th, but if the oil gets here sooner, it could create real problems.

The turtle patrol is also preparing plans for posting cages around the nests in case they are born early. The live hatchlings would then be transported to an oil free beach and released.

The best case scenario is that one in five transplants will be successful.

The state is seeing a surge in people applying for saltwater fishing licenses since the Gulf Oil disaster began. BP requires the licenses for anyone entering into its Vessels of Opportunity program. And while most of the people filing for the licenses have a legitimate claim, as Whitney Ray tells us, there are reports of recreational fishermen trying to get into the program and take jobs away from out-of-work fishermen.

Fishermen, oystermen and shrimpers are fighting to save their coast and their livelihood. BP has enlisted 6-thousand of their boats in the war against the oil leak; cutting the boat captains a check to help make up for the business they’ve loss because of the company’s negligence.

As is the case in almost every disaster, there are some people out there trying to cash in on the miss fortune of others.

Bob Zales, the president of the National Association of Charterboat Operators, says his members sometimes have to compete with recreational fishermen, who make their money inland… but want to rent their boats to BP.

“These are people who are lawyers, doctors, who have private vessels, that are in my mind are stealing from the fishermen that do this because they are working in a program making money that should be going to a fishermen who is not making money,” said Zales.

Since the BP pipe began pumping millions of gallons of oil into the gulf… there has been a surge in the number of saltwater fishing license issued. BP is requiring people wanting to join their Vessels of Opportunity Program to have a license.

Most applications are from legit claimants. Henry Cabbage with Florida Fish and Wildlife, says those who aren’t will be weeded out by BP.

“BP will require documentation that you actually lost income from fishing if you are going to file a claim that says you lost income. Just having a saltwater product license is not sufficient documentation,” said Cabbage.

It’s not just the Vessels of Opportunity Program; outsiders are trying to break into, there are 4-thousand cleanup jobs available in Florida… the state is watching those applications closely to make sure, the people hired have been affected by the leak.

Three days after a massive oil slick closed Pensacola beach, swimmers were back in the water today and a health advisory along 33 miles of beach has been lifted. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the cleanup is far from over.

In Fort Pickens National Seashore, more than 300 yellow vested workers sifted through sand, finding quarter size tar balls. On the bay side of the national park, Ted Dwiggins lamented the fact he couldn’t take his dog, Cheeseburger, out for a swim.

“You just watch it creep up slower and slower,” Dwiggins said. “More tar balls.”

Across from a crowded section of Pensacola beach, heavy equipment replaced what should have been tourists in RV’s.  That’s where we met vacationing John Costa from Memphis.

“I’ve been coming here for a number of years, so it’s very sad to see,” Costa said. “We’re only living with it for a week or two a year, you guys have to live with it year-round. It just kills me that this is happening to you guys.”

Swimmers were back in the water on the first day since the health ban was lifted, but they were few and far between.

“I mean it’s pretty much clean,” beach swimmer Ayla Murphy said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t care. I’d be in the water anyway.”

Empty beach chairs were plentiful, and tangible evidence of the economic toll the spill is having on the local economy.

This is day three since the first wave of oil hit Pensacola Beach and crews are still hard at work trying to pick up the mess. That’s prompting the Governor to call on BP and the federal government to get more crews here before the next wave of oil hits.

Along the beach, more than 1100 people were involved in finishing the cleanup. The Coast Guard says they aren’t going anywhere.

Favorable conditions will likely keep oil off the beach through the weekend, but how much longer is anybody’s guess.