More than a month has passed since Greenpeace took its vessel, the Arctic Sunrise, on a three-month research cruise through the Gulf of Mexico. On the day before Labor Day, the boat and crew docked again in the Port of St. Petersburg before heading north toward Gulfport, Mississippi. Originally constructed in 1975 for seal hunting — the infamous practice of clubbing seals for fur pelts — the Arctic Sunrise now blazes a grand tour of research to investigate claims that the oil from the BP disaster has disappeared.
Phil Kline spent the first half of his career profiting from the commercial fishing industry. He worked to change fisheries policy so that it was more sustainable, but eventually decided he could make more of a difference by joining Greenpeace. When the Deepwater Horizon well exploded in April, he and other members of the environmental organization knew they needed to help.
"We decided we could add value and build the knowledge base that is going to be necessary to understand the long-term impacts," Kline said, "because no one is satisfied with the science being done for hire or by BP or sponsored by the US government. Like, 'It all magically disappeared.'"
This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2010.