Stories from the Gulf -- official trailer


"Stories from the Gulf: Living with the Oil Disaster," produced by NRDC with opening narration by Robert Redford, premiered on Discovery's Planet Green Saturday, April 23. The half hour documentary explores the impact of America's worst oil disaster on Gulf Coast residents, using stunning original photography and audio interviews produced by NRDC and Bridge the Gulf, recorded by StoryCorps. You can now view the film in its entirety online.


Byron Marinovich

Do [I] think the rest of the country understands what's going on now? I don't wanna be rude, but I don't know if they really care.

Byron Marinovich talks about the affect the oil spill had on his community, and what it means to him as a seafood restaurant owner and former oil worker. Recorded in Buras, LA on October 21, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Hollie and Chad LeJeune

It was like grieving for a death. You guys had worked so hard and had built this wonderful business, and then in six weeks time -- it was gone.

Chad LeJeune talks with his mother, Hollie LeJeune, about the BP oil disaster's effects on their lives and their seafood business in coastal Alabama. Recorded in Mobile, AL on October 17, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Acy Cooper

It hurts to see how something like this can divide your community.

Fisherman Acy Cooper talks about BP hiring practices, seafood safety, and the affect the oil disaster has had on his community. Recorded in Buras, LA on October 19, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Rosina and Geraldine Philippe

I don't know if in four-five-ten years from now, I'll still be able to eat oysters, shrimp, fish, crab...

Rosina and Geraldine Philippe of the Atakapa Tribe talk about life before the spill, and how their community responded to the BP oil disaster. Recorded in Buras, LA on October 20, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Tom Herder and William and Gage Swann

I'm wondering if you guys ever thought, 'This is over. This is the last time I'm going to surf here.'?

Tom Herder talks with William and Gage Swann about the BP oil disaster's effects on their lives, and their love of surfing in coastal Alabama. Recorded in Mobile, AL on October 17, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Darla and Todd Rooks

And they want to tell me to eat the seafood? Why don't they eat the seafood? I'll go catch them and I'll throw BP a big old boil....I'm not eating it.

Darla and Todd Rooks talk about the devastating impact of the BP oil disaster on their fishing community. Recorded in Buras, LA on October 20, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Harry Shearer

Other countries are going to take the lead [in clean energy] and we're going to follow. But that's what a declining empire does. I, for one, look forward to our new Chinese overlords.

Satirist Harry Shearer talks about the Gulf oil disaster. Interviewed by Daniel Hinerfeld in Chalmette, LA on October 8, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



J.J. Creppel

It look like BP gonna convert me from a fisherman into a farmer just to see that my family got food on the table.

J.J. Creppel, a Gulf fisherman since the age of 16, talks about the devastating impact of the BP disaster on his livelihood and way of life. Recorded in Buras, LA on October 19, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Thaddeus Pellegrin

My gosh, with that amount of oil, it changes everything. It has the ability to affect everything for God knows how long.

Thaddeus M. Pellegrin, a retired shrimper from Chauvin, LA, talks with his grandchildren about the joys and sorrows of life on the Gulf Coast. Recorded in Chauvin, LA on October 11, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



George Barisich

If this whole environment gets demolished, what good is a boat?

George Barisich, a third-generation commercial fisherman, talks about his life on the water, and concerns that the BP oil disaster will end his career. Recorded in Chalmette, LA on October 7, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Wendy Billiot

We have to respect the bounty we have to conserve it, all the while enjoying it. Because something like a failed blowout preventer could change all of that in an instant.

Wendy Wilson Billiot, owner of Wetland Tour and Guide Service and Camp DuLarge, talks to her 14 year-old son, Seth Billiot, about the changes in their lives after the BP oil spill. Recorded in Chauvin, LA October 12, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3



Peter Cooley

The pelicans pulled out of the black water and of the oil -- that was the image that stayed with me. I have a kind of pelican inside me.

Peter Cooley, director of creative writing at Tulane University, has been writing poems about the BP oil disaster. Interviewed by StoryCorps facilitator Liam Pierce in Chalmette, LA on October 9, 2010.

Listen: If you do not have Flash installed, you can download the MP3

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