18 Beaches the BP Oil Spill May Ruin Forever

The newsletter Business Insider has identified 18 beaches Gulf Coast beaches that may never recover from the ecological disaster of the BP oil spill.

Here are the five most endangered beaches, with photos that are even more upsetting than the oil soaked wave shown here  —

• Worst hit is Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, where there are several endangered locations, including Queen Bess Island and Barataria Bay
• Dauphin Island, Alabama
• Lake Charles, Alabama
• Pensacola Beach, Florida

According to the U.S. Travel Association, $94 Billion is spent every year on travel and tourism, including family beach vacations, in the four Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

You can help the hard-hit resort communities of the Gulf Coast by visiting and spending your vacation and travel dollar.

You will be supporting small family-owned businesses that depend on tourism, some of which are second and third generation family businesses.

And you will be welcome with an extra dose of Southern hospitality.

Most Gulf Coast beaches are open, and travel booking websites like Orbitz are offering discounts and other incentives.

Find more information on the US Travel Association website, and on the South Coast USA website.  That’s a multi-state consortium of destinations along Interstate 10 and the Gulf of Mexico.

by Evelyn Kanter