In the early 1970s, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens promised Cordova fishermen "not one drop" of oil would be spilled in Prince William Sound from proposed tanker traffic and the trans-Alaska pipeline project. Fishermen knew better. Spanning nearly 40 years, Not One Drop is an extraordinary tale of ordinary people who take on the world's richest oil companies and most powerful politicians to protect Prince William Sound from oil accidents.

Author Riki Ott, a rare combination of commercial salmon "fisherma'am" and PhD marine biologist, describes the firsthand impact of this broken promise when the Exxon Valdez oil spill decimated Cordova, Alaska, a small commercial fishing community set in 38,000 square miles of rugged Alaska wilderness.

Ott illustrates in stirring fashion the oil industrys 20-year trail of pollution and deception that led to the tragic 1989 spill and delves deep into the disruption to the fishing community for the next 10 years. In vivid detail, she describes the human trauma coupled inextricably with that of the Sound's wildlife and its struggle to recover.

Contrasting hard-won spill prevention and response measures in the Sound to dangerous conditions on the trans-Alaska pipeline, Ott critically examines shifts in scientific understanding of oil spill effects on communities and ecosystems, exposing fundamental flaws in governance and the legal system. Her varied background, professional training, and activist heart lead readers confidently and clearly through the maze of laws, back-story, and government red tape as large as that of the five billion dollar lawsuit itself, instilling a new-found sense of understanding of this environmental tragedy.

"Aldo Leopold wrote, 'A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.'The tragic Exxon Valdez oil spill is wrong!Riki Ott is the right person--at the right place--at the right time. Her expertise as an author and as a marine toxicologist alerts us to the true cost of our addiction to oil--not just monetary cost, but ecological cost. Democracy and the planet are at stake."--Nina Bradley, Director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation

"Not One Drop unflinchingly documents the full measure of sacrifice made by a few so the rest of us can get our next fix of oil. The price at the pump must now also be measured in shattered communities and our humanity itself. Bravo to Riki Ott for delivering another knockout punch to our petroleum-powered complacency." --Terry Tamminen, Cullman Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, and former Secretary of the California EPA

"Riki Ott, a modern day Joan of Arc, was in the right place at the right time to become witness to one of the most egregious crimes against man and nature in modern day history. Riki has proven through her willingness to expose the corporate corruption and cover up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill that she is a courageous, caring, and passionate voice for the people and the planet."

--Laura Turner Seydel, Chair of the Captain Planet Foundation and cofounder of MothersandOthers for Clean Air

"Ott is the Erin Brockovitch of the Exxon Valdez oil disaster. In Not One Drop she recounts a riveting tale of loss, intrigue, cover-ups, and courage—and in the process helps us all see why we will be glad to leave behind the age of oil."--Fran Korten, Publisher of YES! Magazine

"Riki Ott takes the debate on fossil fuels to a new level in this compelling book. When will the oil companies wake up to realize that—just as U.S. car companies missed the boat on fuel efficient cars—the ExxonMobils of the world need to diversify the types of energy they offer? Somehow, the people of Cordova, Alaska, knew the truth before the oil executives or the politicians they elected."--David Rockefeller, Jr., Founder, Sailors for the Sea

A commercial salmon "fisherma'am," Dr. Riki Ott (PhD in marine biology) experienced firsthand the devastating effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill & and chose to do something about it. Ott retired from fishing and founded three nonprofit organizations to deal with lingering harm. Her previous book on the spill is Sound Truth and Corporate Myths. She lives in Cordova, Alaska.