Not One Drop & Black Wave

by Riki Ott, Paul Carvalho, Robert Cornellier

This DVD/book package should be read and viewed by everyone concerned with crimes against man and nature; about corporate lies and the value of community. Betrayed by oilmen's promises in the 1970s, the people of Prince William Sound, Alaska, awaken on March 14, 1989, to the nation's largest oil spill. Not One Drop is an extraordinary tale of ordinary lives ripped apart by disaster and of community healing through building relationships of trust. This story offers critical lessons for a society traumatized by political divides and facing the looming catastrophe of global climate change. Author Riki Ott, a rare combination of commercial salmon "fisherm'am" and PhD marine biologist, describes firsthand the impacts of oil companies' broken promises when the Exxon Valdez spills most of its cargo and despoils thousands of miles of shore. Ott illustrates in stirring fashion the oil industry's 20-year trail of pollution and deception that predated the tragic 1989 spill and delves deep into the disruption to the fishing community of Cordova over the following 19 years. In vivid detail, she describes the human trauma coupled inextricably with that of the sound's wildlife and its long road to recovery. Black Wave (DVD) - directed by Robert Cornellier, tells the story of the biggest environmental catastrophe in North American history. In a flash, dramatic images shoot across the planet. They show thousands of carcasses of seabirds and sea otters covered in oil. A thick black tide rises and covers the beaches of once-pristine Prince William Sound. For twenty years Riki Ott and the fishermen of the little town of Cordova, Alaska have waged the longest legal battle in U.S. history against the world's most powerful oil company - ExxonMobil. They tell us all about the environmental, social and economic consequences of the black wave that changed their lives forever. Not One Drop and Black Wave show us how too many corporate owners and political leaders betray everyday citizens and how a community forges a new path from despair to hope.

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

A commercial salmon "fisherma'am," Dr. Riki Ott (PhD in marine biology) experienced firsthand the devastating effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spilland chose to do something about it. Ott retired from fishing and founded three nonprofit organizations to deal with lingering harm. She is the author of Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$ and Not One Drop. Riki lives in Cordova, Alaska."