"Has the Gulf of Mexico recovered from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?"
As the tenth anniversary of the disaster approaches, this question is regularly posed. An international team of scientists has spent nearly that long studying its environmental impact on humans, wildlife, and the ecosystem. They provide assessments of the current state of the Gulf, but lingering questions are challenging their ability to predict the long-term impacts.
For insight into the future, we journey to the Campeche region of Mexico that is still suffering four decades after the 1979 Ixtoc oil spill. We investigate how the disconnect between politicians and scientific realities is leading to the public's skepticism about science, which is hindering funding and significant change. We explore how women scientists have overcome countless challenges to become leaders in their fields. And we discover how the marine mammals of the Gulf are surviving.
It is a stark reality that the never-ending search for oil will lead to global economic and environmental challenges. Fortunately, we are living in an era that has the power to bring positive change to how we treat our planet by continuing our development of new technologies and increasing our use of renewable energies. This hope-filled documentary showcases stories that speak to that change and inspires a world still trying to recover from the largest offshore oil spill in history.
