The cost of silence

Impact Campaign

Today, as the world scrambles for stability and control of fossil fuel resources amid the horror of another war, one topic is missing from the national conversation: clean energy. Instead, the clarion call is for U.S. energy independence by way of the very thing that has led to perpetual crisis: more drilling for oil.

It’s time to stop repeating our mistakes. Now is the moment to highlight the tragic global consequences of a fossil fuel future and promote the sustainable solutions already at hand. The technology is here. The plans are drawn. And the public is at attention. Let’s seize the moment to create this critical shift toward renewables and clean energy and start an age of growth, resilience, and true security. In these days of chaos and uncertainty, we have a generational opportunity to change the narrative--and the world.

Film log line

Secretly filmed over nine years, an oil industry insider exposes the devastating consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill and uncovers a public health disaster and the coordination between government and industry to silence the victims. 

Film synopsis

The Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 was the world’s worst offshore oil drilling accident in history. The resulting oil spill contaminated 68,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico and threatened the lives of six million people. To make the oil go away, toxic chemicals called 'dispersants' were sprayed in unprecedented amounts. In the months and years after the disaster, the world has been led to believe that the 'clean-up' was a success, the dispersants were harmless, and life is back to normal. An oil field insider knew the official story was suspect and began to investigate. What he finds is a far different story.  

From BP employees to clean-up volunteers to coastal residents and even innocent vacationers, Gulf Coast families and communities of all ages, races, and classes are suffering chronic illness, cancer, and premature death at rates far above national averages. The common link among the victims: all were exposed to oil and dispersants. 

The cover-up has been successful, and a dangerous precedent has been set for the use of toxic dispersants in all future oil spills: ports around the world are stocked and pre-approved for deployment. Hiding this catastrophe paved the way for the 2018 Trump administration’s announcement of the most extensive offshore oil development plan in fossil fuel history. Implementation of that plan began in early 2019 and, to date, continues under the Biden administration.