As oil continues to spill into the Gulf questions remain about the aftermath, both short and long term. At what point will the oil spill be contained? When will the full extent of the damage be known? Will off-shore oil drilling have a future? At the moment the priority is stopping the oil spill. While government and BP investigations will likely take more than a year to fully conclude, oil spill lawyers that filed early class action lawsuits against BP and others may lead the investigatory charge while proving their cases.
The oil spill off Santa Barbara, California in 1969 helped initiate and give momentum to the environmental movement. Any major drilling reform will come from Congress; however, the oil & gas industry contributes substantially to many election campaigns and virtually every Congressperson has residents in their state employed by oil & gas. Given this, can we truly expect any positive outcomes for the environmental movement from the Deepwater Horizonmassive oil spill in the Gulf Coast region? Mississippi oil spill lawyers representing large numbers of out of work fishermen, shrimpers & oystermen may create litigation on multiple fronts, against oil & gas companies, federal government agencies and state and local governments while trying to defend their clients livelihood. These lawsuits could be what causes legislation to finally occur.
We can only hope that such a reevaluation of priorities will occur after this, the worst global ecological disaster of time. As Americans continue to see images of crude-soaked birds, it is hard to ignore that our nation’s dependence on oil needs to be reconsidered. Such a traumatic disaster as this should also highlight all the negative consequences of oil, from national security threats to the risks of climate change. President Obama must deliver on his promised priority of a new economy of green jobs and clean energy; his recent rhetoric indicates that he intends to use the Gulf Coast oil spill as a platform to start this work. However, as those who lost their jobs, business or even way of life due to the oil spill may point out: words are only words and action is what is needed. In the wake of this tragedy, Americans must not settle for this to be resolved through just another class action oil spill lawsuit, and also start demanding clean energy options and the infrastructure that will allow us to reduce our national energy consumption.
