On Nov. 4 Dr. Joe Goy peruses o copy of The Gulf of Mexico: Origin, Waters and Biota. The book provided readers with information about each species· location, territory and biological makeup. Ashe/ Parsons Dr. Goy sets out pictures of his research in his classroom on jon. 21. Goy used his research to help write a book that would hold BP accountable for the damage done to the Gulf of Mexico after the 2010 oil spill. Ashe/ Parsons After oil began floodingtheGulfofMexicoonApril 20,2010, images of damaged beaches and oil-soaked wildlife began flooding American media. It was impossible to go a day without hearing about BP's damaged well and the environmental disaster that ensued that spring. What everyone did not know, however, was that associate professor of biology Dr. Joe Goy helped write a book that would hold BP accountable for the damage done to the Gulf. Goy was one of 140 experts chosen to write Gulf of Mexico- Origin, Waters, and Biota (Volume 1: Biodiversity). Specifically, Goy coauthored chapter 59, "Decapoda (Crustacea) of the Gulf of Mexico, with Comments on the Amphionidacea," a chapter addressing over 300 different species of shrimp living in the Gulf. "The book covers everything from bacteria to whales," Goy said. "I was privileged to be one of the [individuals] chosen to work on it" Goy's book helped hold BP responsible for the effects of the oil spill because it set the standard for determining what the biota, or the total collection of organisms of a region or time period, of the Gulf contained before the oil spill. J©® Goy holding BP Oil accountable "Any study or survey of how this spill affected the organisms in the Gulf of Mexico will consult the 2009 book, and any loss of a fishery or other commercial species could be attributed to the pollution caused by the spill," Goy said. -.. Goy was clearly an exRert on the subject after having spent eight years at the Duke Marine Lab in~orth Carolina; three years at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette stud.t:iQi:J Gulf animals; and a year as chief scientist on monthly oceanographl(cruises examining the fishery potential of a specific shrimp from 1989-1'990. Goy laughingly added thatthe culmination of his work came when a particular species of shrimp was officially named after the professor. Thanks to Dr. Joe Goy and the other 139 experts who wrote the book, BP was not able to escape notice of the damages done to the Gulf of Mexico, and Harding students could learn firsthand from an expert about the dangers in the.Gulf. Nicole Cuil/o/Ke/sey Sherrod faculty 151
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