For songwriter Jack Mosley, an Englewood resident and Florida Panhandle native, the disturbing scenes hit particularly close to home.
"Having grown up in Panama City, I've stepped on tar balls before; I've seen oil spills before," he said. "It upset me. I've always expressed myself in songs, so that's what I did."
The pictures inspired Mosley to write "Drill Baby Drill," an anti-drilling song playing on the Republican slogan from the 2008 presidential campaign and asking, "How's that 'Drill, baby, drill' working out for you now?"
Many of those images were included in the song's affecting video, which earned the Producers' Choice for Debut Video of the Year at the Los Angeles Music Awards last month.
The song was produced by famed Nashville producer Norbert Putnam, and the video was produced by Universal Life Church Monastery in Seattle.
The award is nice recognition for the veteran "trop rock" musician who tours the country and appears regularly at local spots like Englewoods on Dearborn Street and Benedetto's in Punta Gorda.
But Mosley said he wished the song had gained more national exposure because of the depth of the disaster. As the debate over drilling continues, Mosley said, he has received a couple of e-mails from people who oppose his views, and his video.
"People who see the video are affected by it in one way or another," he said. "I believe we shouldn't be drilling in the Gulf at all. I've read that we only get 2 percent of our oil from there anyway. With the impact on the environment versus the volume of oil, it just doesn't seem to balance out to me."
Around Englewood, Mosley said residents are "thrilled and ecstatic" about the award. Jack Gray, a music promoter who also works for the Chamber of Commerce, appreciates Mosley's song.
"It's very thought-provoking because it's a subject that touched a lot of people," Gray said. "Jack always has been able to put emotional things into words."
Gray said county tourist spots dealt with summer cancellations because of concerns about the beaches.
Charlotte County has filed claims with BP for about $102,500 for tourism advertising and lost bed taxes, and has received $21,160 so far, staff said.
Gray fears the oil spill is now a forgotten matter.
"We need to let people know that the beaches are fine, and that they can go swimming and they can go fishing and enjoy the environment," he said. "But we need to make things right and realize there is an environmental disaster.
"Jack's song speaks to what our thirst for oil can do," he added.
