With the Gulf oil spill now eclipsing the Exxon Valdez as the worst in U.S. history, University of Miami researcher Andrew Baker, second from left, was among a group of panelists who discussed the environmental disaster’s potential impact on South Florida during the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s 2010 Goal Conference on June 5. Serving on the panel “Ripple Effect: The Impact of America’s Worst Oil Spill,” Baker, an assistant professor of marine biology and fisheries at UM’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and other local stakeholders addressed how the oil spill might affect coral reefs, sea grasses, and mangroves. NBC 6 environmental reporter Jeff Burnside moderated the panel.

Above: Panelists included, from left, Adam Gelber, PBS&J senior scientist for the southeast coast of Florida; Baker; Carlos Espinosa, director of the Department of Environmental Resources Management for Miami-Dade County; and James Fourqurean, professor of biology at Florida International University. Edward Glab, clinical professor in the Department of Management and International Business and co-founder of the Energy Business Forum at FIU, also participated.