Ambition Set the Ocean on Fire

Just before 10 PM. April 20, 2010. The Deepwater Horizon drilling platform trembled. Then exploded.

For 87 days, crude oil gushed from the seafloor. Two hundred million gallons. The largest marine oil spill in history. But the real tragedy began years before the explosion, in boardrooms where executives made decisions that would poison an entire ecosystem.

The warning signs were everywhere. Faulty equipment. Rushed schedules. Safety protocols ignored. Workers on the rig knew the blowout preventer wasn't working properly. They knew the cement job was incomplete. They knew the pressure tests were failing.

Yet the drilling continued.