Blog

Today we flew in a seaplane from New Orleans into the gulf, where we saw the beautiful yet fragile system of wetlands in Louisiana. Before long, the landscape became littered with oil rigs and fishing boats converted for oil cleanup. It was a stark reminder of how the oil industry has invaded our gulf, our wetlands, and our homes. After an hour of flying south, we were hit with a strong smell of oil. The water turned from a choppy cobalt to bright blue with rust colored streaks. The water was smooth due to the increased surface tension brought by the oil. The whole slick stretched as far as we could see, and suddenly, we were at the Deepwater Horizon disaster site-- Ground zero of one of the worst ecological disasters our country has ever faced.
We've been in the gulf for a week now, and back on shore, there has been a sense of the calm before the storm. There aren't thick globs of black stuff washing up with dead animals like we were expecting. Even though the spill started two months ago, most of the oil is still off shore. And the amounts that have washed up so far are broken up by the dispersants being dumped into the gulf at the well head. Not only do the dispersants make it harder to see the oil, it's harder to clean up, and is more toxic than the oil itself. Most of the oil isn't slicked on the surface, instead it's hidden underwater out of reach by the booms being used for cleanup.

Yesterday a line of storms came in where we were staying in Alabama, and with the rain came the oil. The gulf beaches are a real paradise, but instead we witnessed sugar white sands marred with brown oil and the stench of kerosene.

Back at the spill site, there were dozens of boats, rigs and platforms in the area. A burnoff operation created a large fireball of burning oil and gas with a big plume of smoke. It's easy to underestimate or even ignore what's happening in the gulf, but this tragedy is real, and it's not over.


The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is only the most visible manifestation of the consequences of burning fossil fuels. Climate change, ocean acidification, and species loss are the long term repercussions of the way that we get energy. Our next film will be about the mass species extinction event that's going on right now, and our work here in the gulf will help illustrate how our actions are causing it. We remain hopeful, though, because we have the power to create the change we so badly need. With The Cove, and now with our next film, we continue our mission of inspiring people to save the oceans.
~Gina Papabeis
images, Louie Psihoyos