On April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, drilled by Transocean Ltd. and operated by BP (located some 41 miles off Louisiana’s southern shore) exploded and eventually sank 5,000 ft into the Gulf of Mexico killing 11 workers. Gulf of Mexico from 3200 ft.

The Discoverer Enterprise and the Development Driller II as they work to plug the blown out Macondo wellhead, June 25, 2010.

(Left) The US Coast Guard deployed thousands of valiant men and woman to run the clean up efforts throughout the Gulf States. Pictured: Jason Bucher, Air crewman, USCG Mobile, Alabama, scans the water for visible oil sheen/crude out of a Fixed Wing aircraft. (Right) The ruptured wellhead spewed crude oil into the Gulf for a staggering 87 days totaling 206 million gal. of escaped oil.

Andrew Richardson, Public Affairs Officer, Alabama National Guard takes a break from looking outside the window of a Coast Guard Fixed Wing aircraft to examine the drill site. PFA, Richardson provides specific information to media personal and cleanup vessels.

Gulf of Mexico July 2010: Jason Bucher, Air crewman US Coast Guard stationed Mobile, Alabama, scans the water for visible oil sheen and crude.

Within 10 days of the explosion the crude made landfall in the fragile grass marshes of Southern Louisiana. Some 36,000 clean up employees were hired by BP to battle the beached oil. Pictured: Subcontractor workers from Clean Harbor use absorbent boom to strategically ‘mop up’ oil in Bay Tambour south of Cocodrie, Louisiana.

Gulf residents began loosing trust in BP and Federal Government agencies. Pictured: Bobbie Visnoyske, Park Ranger, Public Affairs Specialist for the National Park Service is interviewed by local Mobile news crews. Questions surrounded the government’s role and whether or not the clean up methods were effective.

(Left) The small Alabama town of Orange Beach did not have time to wait for BP to impede the approaching oil. Pictured: Ariel photo of oil sheen approaching Cotton Bayou Beach, Orange Beach, Alabama. (Right) An oil stained heron is fishing for small bait fish that are trapped in the tire tracks from the cleanup response tractors.

An oil stained Brown Pelican in flight.

By the evening of June 16 dark oil began to stain the white sand beaches of Orange Beach, AL.

Subcontractor P2S workers drive up and down the shoreline searching for beached oil and tar balls.

Captain Lori DeAngelis, of Dolphin Queen Cruises has spent the last 17 years loving and protecting the resident dolphins and wildlife of the back bays of Orange Beach, AL.

Captain Lori saw an opportunity through the media to give the silent victims a voice. Pictured: Captain Lori being interviewed by the Oceanic Preservation Society, “life is not like we knew it before, I’ll protect them [dolphins], they’re innocence victims,” Captain Lori.

(Left) As the oil continued to threaten the back bays the local government recognized the current boom systems were not functioning properly. (Right) The local government of Orange Beach wrestled the state for increased funding to implement a large steel boom at Predido Pass, a major gateway to the Inracoastal Waterway.

“No one’s going to protect your backyard like you’re going to protect your backyard,” Mayor Tony Kennon. Pictured: Predido Pass boom shot from the fenced bridge walking path. The 1100 ft. diversionary boom is 36 in. wide and has a 36in. deep skirt.

(Left) Thompson Engineers hired to construct and maintain the boom are locals from Baldwin and Mobile counties. (Right) Orange Beach was also used as the model for the local fisherman Vessels of Opportunity program. Working day and night, BP pays the captains to locate and skim the surfaced oil. The pay rate is a mere fraction of their lost income, but there's no other option.

The mental stress and anxiety began to take its toll on the local fisherman. William Allen “Rookie” Kruse, 55 – an OB charter boat fishing captain for 26 years, took his own life on the flying bridge of his own boat, The Rookie, June 23, 2010. Pictured: The “Rookie” docked at Zeke’s Marina, OB, now serves as a memorial to the beloved captain.

The community mourned the loss of a dear friend and prayed for his family to recover. Built on faith, many OB locals looked to their religious leaders for support, guidance and encouragement. Pictured: Together, OB locals pray for the captain’s family at a community meeting held on June 23, 2010.

Pastor Dr. Allen McBride of OB United Methodist Church, developed a free pastoral counseling program for all residents. “We’re offering sympathetic, confidential, caring and encouraging listening scheduled at your convenience,” Pastor McBride (pictured here praying at his beach side Sunday Sunset Service).

As the oil continued to decimate the beaches and back bays, word spread like wildfire and the majority of summer tourists never arrived.

Orange Beach's tourism alone dropped 80%.

Realtors were fed up and they wanted answers. At an OB community meeting, Vince Burchfield of Brett/Robinson reality asks Chris Slinger, BP Engineer, “Can you teach me how to lie. Would you be able to support your family as a realtor down here?”

Some residents volunteered to clean up the oil themselves. Locals, Bill Jefferies and Shirley McCabe scoop up tar balls at Predido Pass, AL. Jefferies, 67, had been cleaning the beaches for almost 4 hours with no break.

Kim Rankin from CBS 42 out of Birmingham, AL, interviews Jefferies. He has to take a moment to compose himself before answering the question, "why are you volunteering?" "I have 5 grandsons and I’m here for them. This is my beach, I'll be here next week, next year, how ever long it takes".

Jo Billups and Karen Harvill local musician activists of Sassafrass use their educational music to bring Earth kindness and green ideas to the public. Sassafrass, singing their song “We’re not the US of BP” under the Predido Pass bridge at a peaceful protest in Orange Beach, AL.

On July 15 BP successfully capped the blown out Macondo wellhead and it was sealed permanently with cement on Sept. 18, 2010. Pictured: Discoverer Enterprise at work burning Methane gas from the blown out wellhead, a process called flaming.

Many Gulf coast residents fear their way of life is lost forever. Now the focus has shifted to the un-tested, invisible Corexit toxins used by BP to disperse the oil.

We have yet to be informed of the lasting effects of these toxic chemicals on humans and on the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem. Without accurate data, we will never be able to know the extent of the devastation from this catastrophe. Pictured: a rig less than a half-mile off the Alabama shore at sunset.