Wednesday, April 15th 2015  7pm
Berkeley, CA

Presented by Earth Island Journal
in partnership with
The David Brower Center

The BP Blowout Five Years Later

Special screening of the documentary film, The Great Invisible, followed by a conversation with journalists who have covered the oil and gas industry and the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Wednesday, April 15
Buy Tickets
7:00 p.m.
$10 Advance/ $12 Door • $5 Students & Teachers

$25 pre-screening reception ticket, includes reserved preferred seating for the film & panel, a chance to engage with Earth Island Journal editors and writers, light snacks & beverages, a year’s subscription to our quarterly magazine. The reception’s net-proceeds will support our Green Journalism Fund.

Five years ago, on April 20, 2010, an offshore oil rig operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, leading to one of the worst environmental disasters in US history. The blast on the Deepwater Horizon killed 11 crewmembers and injured many more. After burning for two days, the Deepwater Horizon sank, causing the largest offshore oil spill in American history. The petroleum flowed unabated for almost three months, dumping hundreds of millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, shutting down the local fishing industry, polluting the marine and coastal ecosystems, and raising questions about the safety of deep-water offshore drilling.

photo of a burning oil rig on the ocean as seen from a marsh, words, the Great Invisible

Earth Island Journal and the David Brower Center present The Great Invisible, a film exploring the long-term effects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. This story has faded for many, but Director Margaret Brown brings it back to life as she travels across Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas to explore the fallout for humans and the environment they depend on. Through a series of interviews with Southerners still haunted by the disaster, audiences are invited to see through the eyes of oil executives, survivors and Gulf Coast residents who experienced it firsthand and then were left to pick up the pieces while the world moved on. (92 min)

The film will be followed by discussion among three journalists who have covered the energy industry for years. Abrahm Lustgarten is an investigative journalist with ProPublica. He was one of the first US reporters to dive deeply into the energy industry’s fracking for natural gas, coverage that won him a George Polk Award. He’s the author of Run to Failure: BP and the Making of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. Antonia Juhasz is an oil and energy analyst, author and investigative journalist. She has written about the oil and gas industry for Rolling Stone, Harper’s and The New York Times, among many other publications. She is the author of Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill; The Tyranny of Oil; and The Bush Agenda. Jason Mark is editor of Earth Island Journal. His writings on the environment have also appeared in The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Salon.com, among other publications.

If you have questions about the special pre-screening reception supporting Earth Island Journal, contact EII’s Development Manager, Sheela Shankar.
About Earth Island Journal

Earth Island Journal combines investigative journalism and thought-provoking essays to engage people in the movement to protect our shared planet. Our mix of hard hitting exposés and inspiring stories of grassroots movements for sustainability has won us numerous awards, including a half-dozen Project Censored Awards for uncovering stories ignored by larger media outlets. On three occasions, Utne Reader has recognized the Journal for top environmental coverage, and wrote: “The environment is surely the biggest news story of our day, and we’re glad Earth Island Journal is on it.”

The Journal’s unique brand of environmental journalism is a key resource for anyone eager to help protect our shared planet. www.earthislandjournal.org.

Earth Island Institute
at the David Brower Center
2150 Allston Way, Suite 460
Berkeley, CA 94704-1375 USA
Phone: (510) 859-9100 / Fax: (510) 859-9091
www.earthisland.org

Location:
The David Brower Center
2150 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA
94704

Contact:
Sheela Shankar
Sheela Shanka {at} earthisland.org
(510) 859-9100

Sponsored By:
Earth Island Journal