The Gulf of Mexico is home
to a wide variety of marine
life. The Atlantic
bluefin tuna stands in these
waters sperm whales
inhabit the area year round
and whale sharks frequent
the northern Gulf after 5
of the world's sea turtle species
were found in the Gulf of Mexico
All of these marine creatures
depend on the solution for survival
Yet there is another species
that depends on something else
something very.
4 years ago. The
Gulf of Mexico is immeasurably
changed.
Fans of oil sheen still
drift along the sea and coastline
We've been continually altering
in the call for many years
Today, the Gulf of Mexico
is a virtual city of oil
and gas platforms this
stretch farther than the eye
can see eclipsing the horizon
Whether the Gulf will ever recover
still remains a mystery
How we got here is not
Of power. The
dream of all well you know what
makes your rival Ron.
For millions of years
this source of powers slept
peacefully in the dark recesses
of the year until modern
magic. The liquid
energy from its subterranean
prison gray areas became
Second only to taxes
while is the greatest revenue
in the US Treasury.
In 1896
the first offshore drilling were
established on the continental
shelf near the coast of Santa
Barbara, California in 1969
Santa Barbara experienced
the worst environmental
disaster of the time
over 2.5 million
gallons of crude oil gushed
into the ocean after a blowout
at enough drilling wreck over 100
miles of pristine California
beach littered with oily dead
birds and marine animals
after Santa Barbara the
nation was divided into
pro offshore drilling and
anti for drilling the debate became
so contentious it
even became a campaign topic
in the 1988 presidential
election.
Little did we know was
waiting for us just around the corner
in March of 1989
The worst oil spill in
this nation's history. It
took place on Friday,
when a super tanker owned by
the Exxon Corporation hit a
reef 25 miles
off the port of Valdez by
today 10 million gallons
of oil covered a hundred square
miles of ocean.
We all know.
That human activities are changing
in the wake of the Exxon President
HW Bush reacted
to the public outcry and
banned offshore drilling that
ban was continued by his successor
and lasted for over 15
years. It wasn't
until 2007
in President George W
Bush's second term
that he lifted his father's 17-year
ban on offshore drilling
We need to take action now to expand
domestic oil production today have
issued them more a memorandum
to lift the exactly prohibition
on oil exploration in DOCS
with this action exactly
branch's restrictions on this exploration
have been cleared away.
By all means horsepower horsepower
using wire.
More power to.
Bonnie Shoemaker PhD physicist
from California's tuition.
I've got my playing out here in April
20-10 if you not pursue actively help
the scientists would take out.
They were actually changed
once I took them out there in the
plane, and they saw with their own eyes
They were flying over miles
and miles and miles
of non-stop oil that's when
they realize that it's easy
behalf.
We probably here really done
the most to force accountability and
these guys because I come back for every flight
report print 20 and actually coast
guard has to answer the oil and gas
company has to answer.
Yeah, so clients
he again, here we go
Not pretty, what I was showing even
even around the site. The
Deepwater Horizon there was extensive
Sheen contingent religion to 20-12
and I'm not sure that anyone else
was wiring that.
That cost them a lot of money,
but they're fix that, if
nobody bothered Norris said there were no
no no.
I was not popular what's wrong
with letting people knowledge.
The people of be made a commitment to
the goal every day sets we
weren't targeting BP has paid over
$23 billion
to help people and businesses who are affected
with paint on our spill related
clean up costs today the beaches and
goal for open for everyone to enjoy
We're making sure people know that the
Gulf is open for business
The beaches are fearful the his solutions
last year in many areas even more
intellectual terrorism.
I was born here and here and
sell it. We were committed to the
for everyone lands in every
1,000.
I thought leave things commercial fishermen
in Southeast Louisiana is not
as good as those BP commercially
would have you believe.
Russian production is down still
down between 40% to 60%
in my area and make a living
like more myself of 29 years
remote. I can't do
it anymore of production is down
at least 93%
in the last 4 years on my the
about 1500 sacks
in 40 years.
I used to sell that week and 204
remained out of BP commercials
as a lot of people believe in that
we're okay. We're
not people are losing
it because of they they can do
they want to follow. So you
get a total, let's go through
some out to give their action here
I in China, India by style either one
of socks. You know I
don't have the education brains gone
style cable. If
you take me and put me
in the coffin the field on
well then one putting somebody else
out of a job.
So here come the domino effect will
tell you about a production is
like the canary in a mine
again canary dies in trouble you
down here until we get to population
back with filters the waters.
We're not gonna have a good vibe of commercial
fishermen in the new W
highs and lows economics
highs and lows of whether hurricanes
you know, but this man-made
disasters Langer still in trouble
The spill has brought
light to a lot
of the issues in the golf
of of the ancillary businesses
family that.
The that ice house in this the transportation
companies people will provide
snacks and groceries
to store all of that
is a direct reflection
of what can happen
when things cease
But after oil spill.
You know the issue recreational fishing
ship to barge information and
and that just you killed ever by
the of former world rally.
That's a fact. Our Italy and
it's affecting every business around
That's how we cannot the seasons
that gets oyster season are its
crab season that's you know
crop this season. You know
and even that we're having
some issues with we've taken it
for granted for so
long that it's it's
a little disconcerting
And it feels different.
How you approach things.
It's affecting my my life
and my culture.
This is not a normal
situation.
Please see what it was lie
and to see what it is like
for debt. My name's
Howson co-owner and president
of T and J Oyster Company
and in business here 438
years and with my brother
We all know business
since the mid 1980s
fitness.
House has been in operation
since 1921
you'll see today that
there is no one in here,
we'd have 4 people here
6 on that side
and 7 over here
we $120 and 40
sacks of voice of the day
Now it you know
if we do a 3rd of that that's
plenty were are heaven The
Gap, what we can and
our that is of higher quality
and its limited. We're
not going to just
sell enemy:
we're not gonna do it on for our,
we've been doing this 438
years to do
something that's inferior
wouldn't be the right thing to do
for our families.
Why use to get very
emotional talking about this
but have began to be able
to compartmentalize
the whole thing and not think
about it as the people
that worked out here
and processed are always we
all grew up work this cooler
used to always be filled
up with pride.
I got a few shells that
that we over the last 10
days.
Louisiana used to produce
40% of
all the market our
oysters from their public
oyster grounds public grounds
used to produce almost
100% of all seen
and since the
All disaster those
areas had been non productive
more and more processors
like ourselves have gone
out of business and
as time goes on
Is gonna be less of us doing
this because we can hold out
We haven't received anything
from BP, we've
been able and go through
all those years operation
our failings over 1-5
generations through all
those different up Sunday
owns a war as the natural
disasters and this
man named disaster about the
biggest hurdle we've ever and
overcome.
11 men died that
day. Don't forget it
Every one of those men they
had families they had wound
send parents and children
And all those families have
been deprived of their loved
ones.
Everybody thinks about the long-term
pollution in the Gulf and
it's out there.
But don't forget, we're talking
about human lie.
The industry over and
over and has proven itself
to be exceedingly
irresponsible irresponsibility
includes covering
up how much they pollute
BP did not want
any outside help an expert
outside help from around
the world was offered
And reject it.
And the reason they turned them down
it's because they didn't want
anybody to know
exactly how much
oil was being released
from that explosion.
The reason they didn't want
anybody to know how much
they were polluting is because
the fire and is based
on the amount of pollution
Ban apologize.
I do not want to live in the country
Were any time a citizen
or a corporation does
something that is legitimately
wrong.
Is subject to some
sort of political pressure
That is again in my
words.
Amounts to a shakedown.
Local communities and those
who joined a response team
to help with the cleanup has not
Their communities have not recovered
Life as they know it has changed
indefinitely.
They may never get their lives
back.
It was when people swim in the water
Right in front of me sparse and spray
and all the animals are trying
to get out the water.
These animals is a lie.
Suckers was crawl not war prayer
mullet flounder.
Sure.
To Dow's tears in May
I want to work with BP
and the tragic stored in
my life. So on
the 3rd week of program I fell out
Am I had to go. Russian room
pump you can throw no shit
normal self mayors so said
Kimmitt the poison pieces why batch
of respirators and yells
know Simpson yells tape around
yells boots and gloves
and get our contacts
in stuff I said they never never
give us any,
he said. Yeah, I shouldn't be on this war
So I would back Tomas supervised
the pool blood out of me.
Me and my wife a why secondhand
splurge Sarwan back supervisor
What does doctor told me he
told me if I said anything else
I'd be terminated.
In 2000. 11 are supposed
to well by the fall of 2000
the not so sick and it was
a justice. It was all us
coming across those duties nets
and it's in that dispersants
fixed everything touches.
It sticks to the so on
its sticks hands I see
stick to my shoes walking house
and sticking to floor it me inside
And expose my family.
80 90% business was repairs
because mission in Congo trolls
are down turn around over a hole one
they will smile Texas incident drought
down because I no longer handle
he used commercial gear coming
out got from Mexico that's new
a of news used yet found
will touch you know as I don't touch
me, I know it's talks
There's 2 kinds of people,
the ones that get sick and no
one's gonna get so many
different things wrong with
me now. And never
had problems with I've
lost faith in an analysis
system, I think
our government is.
Prostitute in itself.
The people who sell should then
for.
People like myself.
Older people.
We should have been given some
kind of morning they made
victims of victims
I was recovering from a train
and arm that can recover.
There's a human health crisis
raging in the Gulf.
They don't think a lot of people know
they but its traders Gazans
in people who are in very, very sick
is something called Gulf Coast into Rome
that people have in their
so many symptoms
are included in their millions neurological
symptoms rumors memory
loss policy our part an
kidney damage here's skin
damage and skin rashes
years.
Cancer starting to emerge
causes oil to enter the body
more readily correction is
the the solvent opens
up the cell walls
it goes through it. That's
why it breaks up the rail once
it in the body Oriel targets
every organ system the liver
the kidney the heart to the brain
everything the mixture of correction
in oil is highly
toxic, we know this
There have been studies, then
from previous oil spills
particularly the Exxon Valdez
oil spill corrects it 95-27
contains a very toxic
solvent new talks ethanol
it causes internal bleeding
the cleanup workers were suffering
from internal bleeding
hemorrhaging one wing BT choose
to use this toxic
dispersant well first of all, they're
allowed to use it.
Under our current regulations
2 million gallons
of corrective were released.
We're not just talking down oil
spill. We're talking about the
chemical experiment.
It was highly experimental
2 years that by you a
dispersant in this major
oil spill.
This is an industry that
has a track record for running
roughshod over local
and state governments and regulators
And the public.
Most people just aren't aware
how massive of
an enterprise is going
on on the Louisiana coast
and a lot of these pipelines were
meant to be in water and
salt water is very corrosive
So there is, there is
a constant problem with
with leaking pipelines.
So without those wetlands.
You know that that's really what's
necessary for protecting you
know our coastal communities from storm
surge hurricanes.
You know it's now had this stretch
of imagination that we could have a mortal
blow out situation in
the Gulf,
combined with the category 5
hurricane you know washing all
that oil into the short, that's
what keeps me up at night.
BP disaster was
was predictable poorly regulated
industry, you know
maximizing profits cutting
corners taking risks
in some senses, it just happened
to be VP. They're not some
outlier in the industry
The lessons that should have been learned
from the BP disaster have nothing
Dear risky practices
it happen any time you're drilling
in deep water.
In terms of response preparedness
were willfully it unprepared
In fact, we would be
in a similar situation
that we were in 2000
and 10 when it comes to mobilize
in response process is not
a matter of if,
it's a matter of when.
We would like to see them held
fully accountable for causing
the largest man made environmental
disaster in US history
The exploration side,
the industry is moving far
too fast for the response
side and it should be the other
way around. There's also this
absurd honored system
by the industry to report
their own violations the leaks
and suppose that we're finding on a regular
basis. I
played out in vastly
underreported in terms of size
and allowed Tanzania reported are.
The oil and gas industry
is pressuring the federal government
to allow the first step
in offshore drilling in the Atlantic
as soon as possible
This first step known as
seismic air again blasting
not only leads the way for risky
drilling but threatens the survival
of marine species, caught
in the crossfire of these blasts
Seismic air guns towed
by ships and faster
raise in mid blasts
of compressed air into the
ocean mapping the sea floor
for deeply buried pockets
of oil and gas.
The blasts from these air
guns are almost incomprehensible
lout 100,000
times louder than a jet
plane Amgen and powerful
enough to penetrate several
miles deep into the sea
floor the dynamite
like blasts are repeated
every 10 seconds
24 hours a day
3 days to weeks
to even months on end
seismic blasts threaten
not only the hearing of marine
life they threaten their very
survival.
More than half a million people
in coastal communities on the
east coast of the United States
depend on a healthy vibrant
Ocean for their livelihoods seismic
air again blasting will put the
stability of the regional
fisheries and those that
depend on them in jeopardy
Our government is currently
taking steps to open the Atlantic
to offshore drilling in every
single ocean where we have derailed
time and time again
we have spell.
It's scary for me here
that they want put offshore
oil platforms, off the coast
of the Atlantic it is pretty irresponsible
think they're well you know we've learned our
lessons it'll be fine.
If anybody would like to
find out about the
real cost for drilling
offshore they should come see us here
in Louisiana.
When you don't have a life form
a wreath at the reef is dead
The habitats dead I use the
kits ÂŁ10,000 a week
We're down ÂŁ3,000 a week
It's not gonna be pretty light
is they know it will, will
be changed.
Mississippi has seen a 50%
drop in the number
of wetlands along our
coast in a 100
year period.
Any time you move in the oil
and gas will move in America
You then have problems.
You don't have spilled.
At what point are we willing
to say enough.
Democracy is not
a spectator sport.
It sounds sort of rhetorical
and cliched but I've lived
it. I've seen it happen. I've
seen communities come together build
coalitions eyeing that we can work
together and we can break this cycle
On January 20-7
20 4-team trade
Beach North Carolina did
just that this small
community came together
to oppose their mayor's support
for seismic blasting off their
coast citizen after
citizens spoke up and
shared their vision for the.
All we now revealed in here
and say, you know, I have to say
I hope that you will think
again at SATs testing times hard
hats. I want to
have to sell things just first
down steeply Patel might the
them there of players that mean testing
In in the cost of this the incident
to to trade seismic testing
The group also huge residents really
can't see how and I respect
that you offered on its side and the,
but as an elected rappers I believe
through their representatives and I think
people need. It was pretty clear.
Was there they witnessed the
public outcry.
The next week they spoke
for their citizens and unanimously
voted to oppose seismic
blasting.
Resolution Council Eurovision worker
is it poses who does is our mission
and the role the oh.
Really good.
We're gonna start after and
the White House makes sense. There
are many other economically
productive ways that we can
work with our coastline so many
places are heavily dependent on
tourism, which employs
more people. So this is about
dollars and cents.
You know, people need to be thinking about protecting
assets that have.
Our communities,
our oceans our economies
Our future is our choice
Let's not let the wants of the
few outweigh the needs of the
many to your elected officials
stop Atlantic drilling before
it starts joined ICI
a and those have already taken
action and visit W
W W.spilled
repeat.
Politicians that
represent are keen to make
sure that whatever is
going to happen is done
in a manner so that people
are protected.
Because that's what their responsibility
is.