Our last day in New Orleans was a productive one, and the people that we were able to meet with today clarified many of the issues that we have discussed thus far. Throughout this weeklong expedition we have heard a variety of different perspectives on the oil spill, and today’s experiences helped tie everything together for us.
In the morning we met with Professor Mitch Crusto, who teaches environmental law courses and specializes in environmental management at Loyola School of Law. Having been exposed to some fairly extreme views on both sides of the oil spill debate, Professor Crusto’s objectivity on the topic was a welcome change. In describing the history of the oil industry in Louisiana and the corporate culture that opens the door for disasters like the BP spill, Crusto reiterated many of the concerns that had been voiced by the groups we met with earlier in the trip. What made Crusto’s remarks compelling, however, was his analysis of the problem and the possible solutions moving forward.
At the root of the BP spill is Louisiana’s reliance on – and America’s addiction to – oil as the primary source of energy. In Louisiana, the oil industry is a primary economic driver, employing a substantial portion of the state’s population and contributing heavily to state tax revenues. A desire to reign in oil companies by enacting tougher environmental and safety regulations is always met with hostility by those who value the economic benefits that the industry provides. Indeed, oil is a practically indispensable component of Louisiana’s economy. If the state will not regulate the oil industry for fear of economic repercussions, how do we avoid environmental disasters in the future?
Moving away from the status quo is even less likely to come from the industry itself. The corporate culture of profit maximization with little regard for safety or environmental protection will not change without outside pressure. To date, oil giants like ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP have been able to avoid serious repercussions even when their blatant disregard for the law leads to environmental catastrophe. When money is the bottom line, oil companies have no incentive to change their patterns of behavior, and as Professor Crusto and others have suggested, it is foolish to think that a company like BP will “learn from its mistakes” when the risk-taking philosophy that led to such mistakes still reaps profits over the long-term. An even greater problem with liability is the potential for BP to reorganize their corporate structure to limit its liability under certain bankruptcy outcomes.
So if the state cannot exert control over oil companies and the industry itself is unlikely to reform, can the federal government step in? The overwhelming answer seems to be “no,” as oil interests and economic doubts seem to drown any serious attempts to move away from the lax standards and regulations that led to the current disaster. Congress has been perpetually unable to find sufficient support for legislation that would curtail the reckless practices of oil giants like BP, and without tougher standards to enforce, agencies are left with little power to regulate oil companies.
The bleak outlook of internal, state, or federal intervention is somewhat disheartening, but it is not the end of the story. The message we heard from Professor Crusto and from a number of different environmental groups was that alternative energy sources are the key to solving the problems associated with the oil industry. In the case of Louisiana, state policies create strong incentives for industries like oil to take root in the state. But these same policies are equally friendly to other industries, as exemplified by the recent launch of a wind turbine manufacturing plant. As one environmental activist pointed out, the gradual phasing out of the oil industry does not have to be an economically crippling ordeal if other more sustainable and productive industries are allowed to take hold. If growth in the wind, solar, and geothermal sectors can help offset a decrease in oil production, the economic stranglehold that oil has on the state will be weakened.
This day was a great bookend to the trip and incorporated all of the major topics we had discussed throughout our journey. We are looking forward to taking everything we learned and experienced from the delegation and putting it into our upcoming presentation.
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