To their credit, thousands of Coast residents are not waiting to see if the shoreline of South Mississippi escapes the growing oil spill in the Gulf.
They are volunteering by the thousands to hit the beach at the first sign of oil.
They are also taking heed of the need for specialized training, because cleaning up oily wildlife can also be hazardous.
This grassroots response to the spill was even on display at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic golf tournament at Fallen Oak this weekend. Many of the same business leaders who organized and underwrote that successful event spent time planning how they will respond to the latest disaster and how they and their employees can help with a cleanup.
Pardon our sense of pride, but we believe now, as after Hurricane Katrina, South Mississippians are determined to do all they can rather than wait on someone else's helping hand.
To read the complete editorial, visit The Biloxi Sun Herald.