Cross-posted from Legal Planet.
In his book Bayou Farewell, Mike Tidwell tells some haunting stories about the rapid disappearance of the Louisiana coast from his time with Cajun fisherman. Here’s one story:
“We all pile into the crab boat and Tim tells his son to head down the bayou. A few hundred feet away . . . Tim points toward a watery stretch of march grass oddly littered with bricks and concrete.
“’It’s a cemetery,’ he says.
“There, shockingly, along the grassy bayou bank, I can now make out a dozen or so old tombs, all in different stages of submersion, tumbling brick by brick into the bayou water. . . The bayou is swallowing the dead here.”
The fact is that even before the BP Oil Spill, the Gulf Coast and the Gulf of Mexico itself were under siege from damage to wetlands, a poorly regulated oil and gas industry, rising seas, an immense marine “dead zone,” invasive species, and damaged ecosystems. As a result, the fishing communities along the coast were already under siege, along with their unique histories and cultures. The BP Spill was just one more impact to this damaged ecosystem.
As I discuss in a recent paper, efforts to combat this situation face formidable political barriers. The BP Spill itself, however, does offer some opportunities for helping to build the regulatory tools and institutional infrastructure that we will need to make a serious effort at saving the Gulf Coast and its communities.
In many ways, what is happening on the Gulf Coast today is a preview of what the future will bring in many places due to climate change and rising seas. By addressing these issues in the Gulf, we can gain valuable experience for addressing these future problems.
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Daniel Farber | January 24, 2011
Cross-posted from Legal Planet. In his book Bayou Farewell, Mike Tidwell tells some haunting stories about the rapid disappearance of the Louisiana coast from his time with Cajun fisherman. Here’s one story: “We all pile into the crab boat and Tim tells his son to head down the bayou. A few hundred feet away . […]
Ben Somberg | January 19, 2011
In case anyone thought the White House would seek additional appropriations to hire new agency staffers to do the regulatory look back work, it sure sounds like a no. Here’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Cass Sunstein speaking on Federal News Radio: “Agencies are in the best position to make choices about which […]
Rena Steinzor | January 18, 2011
Sixteen months ago, President Obama stood in the well of Congress and issued a ringing call for a progressive vision of government. Working to persuade Members of Congress to adopt health care reform, he said that “large-heartedness…is part of the American character. Our ability to stand in other people’s shoes. A recognition that we are all […]
Rena Steinzor | January 18, 2011
President Obama’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this morning touted EPA’s “deregulation” of the artificial sweetener saccharin as a positive development for America. Inadvertently, the president made EPA look silly for having regulated the stuff in the first place. The use of this example was also unfortunate because EPA’s decision to deregulate had little consequence. Here’s the […]
Sidney A. Shapiro | January 14, 2011
Republican legislators have been scheming for years about ways that they can slow down, if not stop, needed health, safety and environmental regulations. But their latest effort, though creative, is perhaps their most ill-conceived. They’re calling it “The REINS Act” (in the last Congress, H.R. 3765 sponsored by Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY), S. 3826 sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)), […]
Holly Doremus | January 13, 2011
Cross-posted from Legal Planet. If EPA is afraid of the new Congress, you wouldn’t know it from today’s news. Assistant Administrator Peter Silva issued the Obama administration’s first veto of a Clean Water Act section 404 permit. This veto, which has been working its way through the cumbersome process for more than a year (see […]
Alexandra Klass | January 13, 2011
The report of the President’s Gulf Oil Spill Commission answered some questions and raised others. But one thing still puzzles: Why didn’t the Gulf Oil Spill start a national conversation about our dependence on oil development and the need for renewable energy? At first, it appeared it might, but the focus quickly turned to reforming […]
Rena Steinzor | January 11, 2011
Despite its strong condemnation of the industry-wide problems that caused last year’s BP Oil Spill, the report today from the President’s commission waivered on a crucial subject: it significantly embraced the essentially self-regulatory British “Safety Case” model of regulation that industry and its consultants have been promoting. So while the commission has done some terrific work, one […]
Daniel Farber | January 10, 2011
Cross-posted from Legal Planet. It’s often said that the Clean Air Act is an inappropriate way to address climate change. It would undoubtedly be desirable for Congress to pass new legislation on the subject, but the Clean Air Act is a more appropriate vehicle than many people seem to realize. There are six common misconceptions […]