VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Dispersants: The Lesser of Two Evils
During the Deepwater Horizon spill, dispersants were sprayed onto oil slicks on the surface of the water, as well as directly into the escaping oil, to break up as much as possible. Ever since, scientists have been studying the impacts of these dispersants.
They’re now evenly split on whether their use was ultimately a good or bad choice for the environment. For some organisms, dispersant plus oil is a very toxic mix. For others, the dispersant itself was actually more toxic than the oil alone. And, for yet other another set of organisms, the dispersant helped, as oil posed the most serious threat.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
GulfCast: The Science of Dispersants
Dr. Noshir Pesika (Tulane University) and Dr. Claire Paris-Limouzy (University of Miami) are working to understand the effects of dispersants sprayed during the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Dispersants are chemicals meant to help the cleanup effort by breaking oil apart into smaller droplets and keeping it from sticking to other surfaces.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Gulf’s deep-sea coral granted new protections by federal regulators
Federal fisheries regulators have approved a plan granting new protections to some of the Gulf of Mexico’s oldest and most fragile stands of deep-sea coral.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council unanimously voted to designate about 480 square miles as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, a status that would make them a priority for conservation and scientific study. The protected areas are broken up into 21 sites, most off the Louisiana coast.
Photo courtesy of Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.
Dispatches from the Gulf 1: Science • Community • Recovery
In the years after Deepwater Horizon – the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history – a global team of scientists is working together to understand its environmental impact on humans, wildlife, and the ecosystem with the ultimate goal of learning how to better cope with future oil spills.
Click here to watch the trailer.
Dispatches from the Gulf 2: Research • Innovation • Discovery
Experience remarkable stories from the unprecedented scientific mission to comprehensively study the impact of Deepwater Horizon and find new ways to ease the devastation. Includes the never-before-documented drama of bottlenose dolphins struggling to survive, and the capture of one of the world’s largest predatory sharks.
Click here to watch the trailer.
Get Free DVDs
DVDs of Dispatches 1 and Dispatches 2 are available free of charge to educators, librarians, homeschoolers, and community activists.
Click here to fill out a DVD request form.
Stream the Short Videos and the Documentaries
Dispatches short videos featuring human interest stories and exploring cutting-edge scientific case studies about the Gulf of Mexico are available on YouTube.
If you would like to stream the full documentaries online or in digital format, send an e-mail request to screenscope@screenscope.com.
Listen to the Podcast
GulfCast — the Dispatches From The Gulf podcast — is available on the following platforms:
iTunes
SoundCloud
TuneIn
Host a Screening
Host a Dispatches screening at schools, libraries, universities, science centers, museums, community centers, or environmental organizations — especially around the anniversary of Deepwater Horizon (April 2018). Guest speakers and panelists can be arranged.
Click here to fill out a Screening request form.
Educational Materials
Supporting Dispatches educational materials including leaders’ guides, lesson plans, transcripts, posters, and student resources are available for download.
Click here to access.
Mensajes del Golfo de México
A Spanish subtitled version of Dispatches 1 is available via streaming or DVD.
Send an e-mail request to screenscope@screenscope.com.
Access the Archive
Click here to access the Dispatches From The Gulf newsletter archive.
Dispatches is made possible by a generous grant from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI).
Additional funding provided by the Wallace Genetic Foundation and the Farvue Foundation.
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