Washington, DC (July 29, 2010) – The X PRIZE Foundation (www.xprize.org), best known for launching the private spaceflight industry through the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE, and the ultra-fuel efficient vehicle market through the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, today announced the launch of its sixth major incentive competition, the $1.4 Million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE. www.iprizecleanoceans.org.

At a press conference in Washington, DC, the announcement was made by X PRIZE Chairman Peter H. Diamandis together with Wendy Schmidt, who personally funded the $1.4 million prize purse. Wendy Schmidt is president of The Schmidt Family Foundation, Founder of the Foundation’s 11th Hour Project and Climate Central, as well as Co-founder, with her husband Eric, of the Schmidt Marine Science Research Institute. Other speakers included Philippe Cousteau, son of Jan and Philippe Cousteau Sr., and grandson of Captain Jacques- Yves Cousteau and co-founder and CEO of EarthEcho International; and Dr. Dave Gallo, Ph.D., Director of Special Projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

The goal of the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE is to inspire entrepreneurs, engineers, and scientists worldwide to develop innovative, rapidly deployable, and highly efficient methods of capturing crude oil from the ocean surface. In making the announcement, the X PRIZE Foundation hopes to attract philanthropic and venture capital to support development of this important capability and provide a global platform where new technologies can be competed head-to-head, and the best approaches demonstrated, to prepare for future catastrophes.

“The devastating impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill will last for years and it is inevitable that future spills will occur – both from wells and from transport tankers,” stated Dr. Diamandis. “To be prepared to safeguard oceans and shores, the X PRIZE Foundation is announcing the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE to find the most effective and environmentally-safe solutions for capturing oil from all spills at the spill site, thus limiting their impacts and protecting our oceans, shores, marshes, and, importantly, the health and well-being of the people and wildlife which live and thrive in these communities.”

“With more then ten thousands of ocean oil platforms across the globe, and million of barrels of oil being transported every day by tankers, it’s not a question of ‘if’ there will be another oil spill, but ‘when,'” stated Wendy Schmidt. “We need to come up with better solutions to capture oil on the surface, to minimize the harm these spills are causing to marine life, coastal wetlands, and beaches, and to our livelihoods – a harm that can last for generations. This is why I am personally funding this X CHALLENGE: to inspire innovators around the world – and all those who want to help address what has happened in the Gulf – to focus on solutions to an ongoing, systemic problem.”

Competition Rules

The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE has two phases:

Phase I. From August 2010 – April 2011, teams from around the world are invited to register for this competition, and to submit their approach to clean up oil slicks created by spills or leaks from ships or tankers (e.g. Exxon Valdez) land drainage, waste disposal, or oil platform spill (e.g. Deepwater Horizon). An expert panel of judges from industry and academia will evaluate all of the proposals along the following criteria:

– Technical approach and commercialization plan
– No negative environmental impact
– Scalability of and ability to deploy technology; cost and human labor of implementation
– Improvement of technology over today’s baseline booms and skimmers

Phase II. The judges will select up to 10 of the top teams to demonstrate their ability to efficiently and rapidly clean up oil on the ocean surface in a head-to-head competition. These proofs of capability, which will determine the winner, will take place at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility (OHSMETT) in New Jersey. The top team that demonstrates the ability to recover oil on the sea-water surface at the highest oil recovery rate (ORR) and recovery efficiency (RE) will win the $1 million Grand Purse. Second place will win $300,000 and third place will win $100,000 in purses.

Competition Benefactor
Wendy Schmidt is President of The Schmidt Family Foundation which strives to advance the development of clean energy and support the wiser use of natural resources. She is founder of the foundation’s 11th Hour Project and of Climate Central. Her other work, at ReMain Nantucket, focuses on generating a model for smart community downtown development on the island. With her husband, Eric Schmidt, Wendy created the Schmidt Marine Science Research Institute in 2009 to provide future opportunities aboard research vessels for urgent ocean studies. Wendy earned an M.A. in Journalism from The University of California at Berkeley, and a B.A. magna cum laude from Smith College. She serves on the boards of the Natural Resources Defense Council, The California Academy of Sciences, GRIST, and The Nantucket Dreamland Foundation.

Supporting Organizations
Alliance for Climate Protection, Global Green, Monterey Bay Research Institute, Natural Resources Defense Coucil, Oceana, Ocean Conservancy, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

About the X PRIZE Foundation
The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. In 2004, the Foundation captured world headlines when Burt Rutan, backed by Microsoft Cofounder Paul Allen, built and flew the world’s first private vehicle to space to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The Foundation has since launched the $10 million Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, and the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. The Foundation is creating and conducting competitions in four prize groups: Exploration (Space and Oceans), Life Sciences, Energy and Environment, Education and Global Development. The Foundation is widely recognized as the leader in fostering innovation through competition. Note to Media: Photos, film, and transcripts from the National Press Club announcement can be found by visiting http://mobprod.cachefly.net/XPrize and www.iprizecleanoceans.org after 4:00 PM (ET) on July 29. Please contact the press office for additional questions and needs.

CONTACT: Ian Murphy: 310.689.6397 (murphyian@gmail.com)

Press Office: 310.741.4883(prcontact@xprize.org)

www.iprizecleanoceans.org

We need your help to raise the rest of these funds. Please donate whatever you can. While supplies last, if you give $20 or more, we will send you a limited-edition TEDxOilSpill t-shirt (example below) in the size you request.

We want to be completely transparent about this, so below we have detailed our current expenses and income.

Expenses
– Venue Fees: $7,500
– T-Shirts: $1,550
– Video: $3,000
– AV Rental: $975
– Food at TEDxOilSpill: $9,700
– Signage: $1,500
– Badge Supplies: $800
– Program: $800
– Speaker Travel: $3,000
– Transportation Costs: $393
Total Expenses: $29,218

Income
– Ticket Sales: $11,500
– Sponsors: $13,500
– T-Shirt Sales: $700
Total Income: $25,700

The contest was organized by Joseph Coates, an award winning graphic designer and design educator in Baltimore. Posters were judged by the following panel:

Ellen Lupton is co-director of the graphic design MFA program at MICA in Baltimore, curator of contemporary design at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City.

Aaris Sherin is associate professor of graphic design St. John’s University, New York. Sherin’s writing and research focuses on the history of women in graphic design and is the author of SustainAble: A Handbook of Materials and Applications for Graphic Designers and Their Clients (Design Field Guide) from Rockport Press.

Scott Stowell is an award winning graphic designer from New York City. Scott lectures and writes about design and teaches at Yale University and the School of Visual Arts. In 2008 Scott was awarded the Smithsonian’s National Design Award for Communication Design.

Now, onto the winners…

Gerren Lamson’s poster was chosen by all the judges and wins the Golden Pelican

Andrew Lewis’ poster was chosen by two of the judges and wins the Silver Pelican

David Vogin’s poster was chosen by two of the judges and wins the Silver Pelican

Ulises Ortiz’s poster was chosen by two of the judges and wins the Silver Pelican

Brian Hurst’s poster was chosen by two of the judges and wins the Silver Pelican

Aya O’Conner’s poster was chosen by one of the judges and wins the Bronze Pelican

Jude Landry’s poster gets an honorable mention

Denise Gallagher’s poster gets an honorable mention

Nancy Bratton’s poster gets an honorable mention

Jessica Ring’s poster gets an honorable mention

Donny Gallagher’s poster gets an honorable mention

Doug Hucker’s poster gets an honorable mention

Be sure to check your local listings and find out when Need to Know airs. In Baltimore and DC, it will be airing at 10:30pm tonight, so don’t forget to set your TiVo.

Reposted from TEDxOilSpill Expedition member James Duncan Davidson’s blog:

The Coast Guard has set up newer and tighter restrictions in the Gulf. Ones that would have prevented the TEDxOilSpill Expedition team from getting some of the photos we took. In short, there’s a 65-foot “safety zone” around any response vessels or booms on the water or on beaches. As reported by the Times-Picayune, violation can result in a civil penalty of up to $40,000 and could be prosecuted as a Class D felony.

Safety zones sound all good and fine if you’re nowhere near the disaster. But they also squelch coverage. Let me show you what the beach on Grand Isle looked like when we went out one evening after all the security and clean up crews left for the night:

Those dark blobs are tar balls. Weathered oil. Here’s what that same beach looks like a few days later during the day on the “safe” side of the barriers preventing access:

Can you tell what’s down at the water line? Maybe there’s something there. Maybe there’s not. What a difference that distance makes. This restriction is nothing but yet another chilling effect on top of all the others that are in place. Press photographers know how to work in dangerous situations. They know to not interfere with workers doing their job. They’ve done that in numerous disasters over the years of all kinds. They also know how to take responsibility for their actions.

Volunteers can’t work on the beach, ostensibly for liability reasons. Only contracted employees can go work. Of course, those contracts expressly forbid talking with media. Every boat captain that signs on with the clean up is also expressly forbidden from talking to media or taking photographers out, even when those photographers can stay out of the way of people working. Chilling effects, all.

The Coast Guard says that you must call the Coast Guard captain of the port of New Orleans to get permission. If you buy the safety argument, that sounds sort of reasonable. Except for the fact that there’s no stated rules for who can get permission. The Times-Picayune article reports that AP photographer Gerald Herbert—one of the few mainstream press photographers that has been putting out incredible shots—has asked to discuss the new policy with officials. Guess what? He hasn’t received a response.

Here’s one of my photographs that I could be convicted as a felon for taking now:

Here’s another:

Here’s another:

I successfully made these photos without endangering any response workers, interfering with boom, or endangering wildlife. In fact, there wasn’t a response worker within miles of my location. Should I be a felon for making these images?

Why is the government helping control the message here? Who’s interest is being served? It’s certainly not the public’s interest.

Our recorded expenses in the Gulf of Mexico for the Expedition and to Washington DC to present our images and stories add up to $13,816.08. That doesn’t include the odd $1.00 toll or pack of M&Ms or beef jerky or batch of Cherry Limeades (yay, Sonic!) that didn’t make it into the accounting. It also doesn’t include a few expenses that I’ve not heard about from the other team members. But, it does include airplanes, cars, boats, meals, and lodging. In short, it’s almost the full accounting.

Here’s how it breaks out:

Airfare: $6,135.78. This is for flying five people to both New Orleans and Washington DC on short notice from various parts of the country. There’s no good way to take advantage of cheap fares when you’re on a deadline and when there aren’t any fare wars going on. Seaplane: $4275. This was for two flights out to the source with one returning via Barataria Bay and the other via Gulf Shores, Alabama. Hotels: $1732.06. Our most frequented stay was La Quinta. One night was at the Holiday Inn Express. Another was at a non-name place in Grand Isle, an amazingly hard place to find a hotel right now given all the workers staying on the island. The most expensive hotel nights were in Washington DC, of course.

Food: $751.45. This item came in much cheaper than I expected. Possibly because the Washington DC food expenses weren’t centralized. Mostly, we just ate very economically. I think our biggest splurge was a dinner at Chevy’s one night. Car Rental: $418.82 for our black Nissan Xterra. I’m sure the Hertz didn’t appreciate having to clean out the sand from all of our beach excursions. Gas: $168.92. Of course, we always avoided BP gas stations. Taxi: $160 for schelpping people around in Washington DC. Boat: $140. We didn’t spend much on big boats because none were to be found. All we were able to score was a flatboat. Still, we got a great deal on this. Ferry: $34 between Dauphin Island and Alabama.

The expenses tallied, lets look at the income side of the equation:

$6728.98 has been given through 140 donations as of June 30th. The average donation was $48.06. After PayPal fees of $248.44, that gives us $6480.54 to apply to our expenses. I’m currently working through the process of getting money out of PayPal right now, but I expect to have that taken care of soon.

If anybody was worried about funding our vacations after the TEDxOilSpill event, they don’t need to be. You’ll note that the expense balance will be $7335.54 after we get the current donation balance out of PayPal. We’re all still underwater by a good deal on this on out of pocket expenses. But there may be other opportunities to recoup some costs along the way. Furthermore, we knew the risks going in and are quite happy that the donations have covered as much as they have. For that, we thank you. —Duncan

If you’d like to help us out a bit more, please consider donating via PayPal.

Instead of offering up standard questions about BP’s actions that they will simply ignore or dodge, we at TEDxOilSpill want to put together a solid, cohesive request for very specific sets of data that would help better understand and visualize the scope of this disaster. With better data, we can be more informed about what action should be taken in the Gulf, and this is an opportunity to make that request in a way BP will have trouble refusing.

Our goal is to put together a list of the top-5 datasets that we ask the respective data owners to release to the public.

But we don’t have much time! The BP Q&A with Google Moderator will be happening tomorrow, Thursday July 1 and questions will only be accepted until 3:30pm ET. The sooner we have the question up and can point BP to a page with the request for this data, the more likely it will be that they will answer.

Please send an e-mail to tedxoilspill@tedxmidatlantic.com with your ideas for data that would be beneficial to you.

You can also submit a question directly to Google here.

The X PRIZE has been incredibly successful at attracting the attention of the world’s top thinkers to our most pressing problems, and the oil spill in the Gulf certainly qualifies. The X PRIZE is viewed as the leading model to leverage the elements of public interest, entrepreneurial spirit and cross-disciplinary innovation to bring about breakthroughs that benefit us all.

So far, there have been four X PRIZE challenges: the Ansari X PRIZE for manned spaceflight, the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, the Google Lunar X PRIZE, and the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. The Ansari X PRIZE was won in 2004 and led to the creation of Virgin Galactic, which expects to make its first commercial sub-orbital flight into space in 2011.

An Oil Spill X PRIZE will represent only the fifth X PRIZE ever to be offered, and will be focused on the development of rapidly-deployable methods to clean up crude oil among coastlines and seas/oceans. Specifics of the challenge will be announced in the coming weeks.

Those interested in learning more about the new prize may contact Francis Beland at francis@xprize.org.

The Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI) proposes a collaborative, region-wide investigation of toxic impacts of oil and dispersants on the Gulf ecosystem – from phytoplankton, fish, and birds to marine mammals and humans. This broad-based, multi-species, multi-habitat approach can provide essential information in a timely way that will inform public health measures (seafood safety), as well as current and future restoration efforts.

Tracking Threats to the Food Web

Both types of Corexit dispersants used in the Gulf contain solvents – petroleum distillates that are animal carcinogens – capable of killing or depressing the growth of a wide range of aquatic species. For vulnerable species such as phytoplankton, corals and small fish, the combined effects of Corexit and dispersed oil can be greater and last longer than the effects of oil alone. As plumes of dispersed oil form in the water column, toxic globules of oil and dispersant envelope and kill floating plankton, fish eggs and larvae – and everything else at sensitive life stages. Planktivorous fish like herring indiscriminately ingest these globules and break the oil down to more toxic by-products that can be deadly at low concentrations. Depletion of critical niches in the food web sets the stage for “trophic cascades” which can cause the collapse of higher organisms.

At the top of the food chain, large fish (amberjacks, tuna, grouper) and marine mammals are exposed to oil and dispersant through consumption of contaminated fish. For air-breathing animals like dolphins, sperm whales, and manatees, exposure to volatile petroleum fumes occurs every time they surface for air and can result in liver and kidney damage and respiratory problems including chemical pneumonia. Skin contact with oil and dispersant can cause ulcers and burns to membranes of the eyes and mouth. Corexit 9527 contains an especially toxic component, 2-butoxyethanol, that ruptures red blood cells, causing animals to undergo hemolysis (internal bleeding).

While some of the effects of this disaster are all too visible – oiled pelicans, dead sea turtles — it is likely that the worst of the impacts on the Gulf are yet to come and will not be apparent without deliberate tracking and scientific assessment.

Call for Independent Research

Currently, there is no independent, region-wide effort to assess the short- and long-term impacts of oil and dispersants throughout the Gulf food web. BP and federal officials first denied that the dispersants were creating subsea plumes of oil. The voice of independent scientists brought this information to light. State agencies in the gulf are overwhelmed, underfunded, and fragmented – most are charged with protecting a single species or group of species with certain habitat types. These efforts will not tell the full story or consequences of the damages to the food web.

As a lead institute specializing in independent, region-wide ecotoxicological assessment, the Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI) is uniquely qualified to fill this gap. Now in our 20th year, MERI’s Center for Marine Studies has extensive experience conducting large-scale investigations of exposure and effects of hundreds of environmental chemicals in marine species, including mammals and commercially important fish stocks along the US Atlantic coast.

Already, MERI’s toxicological research expertise has been instrumental in the Gulf. In May, MERI Director Dr. Susan Shaw conducted a preliminary investigation of potential impacts of oil and dispersant in the water column. Since then, she has been advising the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in their efforts to assess oil exposure in shellfish (oysters, crabs, shrimps) and near-shore fish (black drum, red drum, sea trout, sheepshead) destined for human consumption.

As the core of a dynamic team of public, private, and university partners, MERI will plan and carry out independent, integrated scientific research to investigate the impacts of oil and dispersant on the Gulf environment and biota. MERI will utilize available data from existing federal and state monitoring programs and avoid duplication of effort wherever possible.
Partners

MERI is currently exploring key partnerships with research institutes, agencies, and universities within the Gulf region and beyond to carry out this project. Identified partners include the following:

– MERI has a longstanding partnership with The Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health and School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany, NY, Under the direction of Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan, Wadsworth’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences specializes in human biomonitoring and is a world leader in ecological monitoring of toxicants, including persistent pollutants and trace metals in air, water, soil, sediment, biota and human specimens.

– The Gulf Restoration Network, New Orleans, LA serves as a central information and networking hub across the Gulf. The Network will distribute sampling kits and training videos to participating groups and individuals.

– Google Ocean and Mission Blue Foundation will provide expertise in consolidating information and conducting public education through an integrated geographic information systems (GIS) approach.
RVLL Ocean Endeavors, Austin, TX, will provide communications consulting and coordination.

– The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), a center within the Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York, will assist with on-line data and information management, spatial data integration and training, and interdisciplinary research related to human interactions in the environment (proposed partner).

Assessing Toxic Impacts

This project will assess the following:

– The distribution and fate of crude oil-related contaminants, including but not limited to, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkylated PAHs and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PAHs) throughout the Gulf food web – in water, sediments, plankton, estuarine and offshore fish, sea turtles, marine birds and marine mammals

– The distribution and fate of contaminants released from dispersants (surfactants, solvents)
Spatial and temporal patterns of contaminant transport, behavior, and food chain accumulation
The toxicity of crude oil, dispersed oil, and dispersants in targeted species, including potential human toxicity from seafood consumption

– A project of this scale will require significant new funding, yet the situation is volatile and sample collection cannot wait. Therefore, as MERI continues assembling the team and seek funds, a MERI-led team will immediately commence training and collection of environmental and biotic samples throughout the Gulf.

– MERI is enlisting the cooperation of state and federal agencies, stranding networks, and trained volunteers to obtain samples (see our preliminary Gulfwide Sampling Program). Sampling kits with detailed sampling instructions will be distributed region-wide through the Gulf Restoration Network and key agencies and universities. Volunteer training will be offered at selected locations beginning in July, and training videos will be made available. Preliminary analysis will follow the ecotoxicological research protocols established by MERI and Wadsworth over the past decade.

Summary

– Currently, there is no independent, region-wide effort to assess the short- and long-term impacts of oil and dispersants throughout the Gulf food web.

– MERI is uniquely qualified to lead an independent, region-wide assessment of toxic impacts in the Gulf because of its pioneering work conducting large-scale ecotoxicological investigations.

– The focus of this research is to document impacts of oil and dispersant on the Gulf ecosystem in key species at every trophic level.

– Sample collection will commence immediately and will include water, sediments, and plankton, and tissues of nearshore and offshore fish, sea turtles, marine birds and marine mammals.

– Chemicals to be measured include oil-related contaminants (PAHs, alkylated PAHs, OH-PAHs), and components of Corexit dispersants (surfactants, solvents).

– Contaminant-related health impacts assessment will include mortality and morbidity, and testing for bioindicators such as enzyme induction in various species.

Contact

Susan D. Shaw, DrPH
Director, Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI)
Center for Marine Studies, PO Box 1653, 55 Main Street
Blue Hill, ME 04614 USA
Tel: (207) 374-2135 Cell (212) 203-9539 Fax: (207) 374-2931
Email: sshaw@meriresearch.org
http://www.meriresearch.org