Ecocide

In April 2010 an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon—a Transocean-owned, BP-leased oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico—killed 11 workers and subsequently led to the equivalent of an estimated 4.2 million barrels of oil being dumped into the Gulf. It is considered to be the worst manmade environmental disaster in U.S. history. Grand Isle, the last inhabited barrier island off the coast of Louisiana, sits 100 miles from the Deepwater Horizon site, and its inhabitants are entirely dependent on the surrounding water for their livelihood. Once the Deepwater oil made its way to Grand Isle, it decimated everything it touched—and that was just the beginning. Filmmaker Juliet Brown's powerful documentary Ecocide chronicles the short- and long-term effects of the Deepwater spill on Grand Isle's people and environment: wildlife dying or suffering from mutations from the oil and the chemical dispersant used during cleanup; commerce disrupted due to trawlers being unable to fish sullied water; tourist dollars lost; and a population slowly succumbing to health conditions related to the spill. The film ironically balances these sad facts with BP and local, state, and federal government claims that the cleanup was successful and the crisis eliminated. To further drive home the message, images of water, shorelines, and wildlife destroyed by the thick black oil sludge and a community slowly falling apart are juxtaposed with notably sparse scenes of vacationing beachgoers after the island has supposedly received a clean bill of health. Ecocide successfully illustrates how willful ignorance continues the damage begun by the oil spill. Extras include a featurette on efforts to make ecocide an international crime. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Morehart)