Ocean Emergency: Brazil
Help Parley and our local partners protect Brazil’s beaches and marine ecosystems
For the last two months, blobs of oil have been washing up along a 1400 mile stretch of Brazil’s northeast coastline, and the spill is now spreading to other areas. The dark, toxic petroleum is affecting beaches, reefs, mangroves and coastal communities. Cleanup teams have reported dead dolphins, turtles, and seabirds – while an underwater survey of three coral reefs found oil in every animal tested, ranging from fish and crabs to mollusks and octopuses.
Photos by Mateus Morbeck
The exact source of the mysterious spill remain unknown, and the oil is also unusual because it consists of a heavy crude mixture that does not float. The dense, black substance congeals below the water’s surface, making it difficult to monitor the spill and to gauge its full extent. The oil is also washing ashore sporadically, covering one beach in sludge while leaving others untouched.
On the ground, Parley is working with Corona, Salve Maracaipe and other local partners to support local cleanup efforts. Volunteers have predominately been leading the cleanups, but doing so is risky. Without the proper training and equipment, handling the noxious petroleum is hazardous. Parley Brazil is calling for help to equip cleanup crews and organise response teams in affected areas.
Help us respond to the oil spill in Brazil. All donations will go towards funding cleanups in the country, helping us train volunteers and providing much-needed equipment.
“The oil on our beaches is a consequence of our fossil fuel addicted economy, a toxic substance that is present in our daily life in different forms without us being aware – from the plastic packaging that surrounds almost everything we consume to the fuel that is burned and emitted into the air that we breathe. We must get off of fossil fuels and leave them in the only place they are safe: buried under the ground.”
Juliana Poncioni, Parley Brazil
Photo by Raúl Aragao
We’re currently working with local partners to assess the health and safety implications of public cleanups. If you would like to volunteer, please email cleanup@parley.tv
Photos by Sandro Santos
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