Oil Firms Still Have an Influence
Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 4 January 2011
by Andreas Kraft (link to original)
It was the worst environmental catastrophe in the history of the U.S. Now, nine months later, they seem to have already forgotten it.
The U.S. government is promising oil firms that they will soon be able to drill in the Gulf of Mexico again. Environmentalists are astounded by this, but there is a particular reason for it: lobbyists are throwing a fit.
About a third of the oil in America comes from the waters of Louisiana, the area that was hit the hardest by the oil catastrophe, and only has two main industries: oil and fishing. Shrimpers and oyster farmers still haven’t recovered from the catastrophe. As recently as the end of November, fisheries were closed once again.
That’s why there is even more pressure to, at the least, turn the fishing industry around again. But, at most, that can only help the region for now. The oil reserves will be depleted at some point, while shrimps and oysters are coming back and attracting tourists. Many people in Louisiana know this and they’re the ones Washington should be listening to — not the corporations.
The U.S. government is promising oil firms that they will soon be able to drill in the Gulf of Mexico again. Environmentalists are astounded by this, but there is a particular reason for it: lobbyists are throwing a fit.
About a third of the oil in America comes from the waters of Louisiana, the area that was hit the hardest by the oil catastrophe, and only has two main industries: oil and fishing. Shrimpers and oyster farmers still haven’t recovered from the catastrophe. As recently as the end of November, fisheries were closed once again.
That’s why there is even more pressure to, at the least, turn the fishing industry around again. But, at most, that can only help the region for now. The oil reserves will be depleted at some point, while shrimps and oysters are coming back and attracting tourists. Many people in Louisiana know this and they’re the ones Washington should be listening to — not the corporations.
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