Legal Remedies for Deep Marine Oil Spills and Long-Term Ecological Resilience: A Match Made in Hell
36 Pages Posted: 9 Aug 2011 Last revised: 14 Nov 2013
Date Written: December 27, 2011
Abstract
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill that lasted from April to September 2010 was not only the worst oil spill disaster in United States history but also the first to occur at great depth. Drilling at depth multiplies the risks and complications of offshore oil extraction. It also, as this Article explores, makes natural resource damages a decisively inadequate remedy for the damages done to the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystems, especially the poorly understood but highly productive ecosystems that exist almost a mile below the surface. This Article argues that our current natural resource damages regimes for oil spills depend too heavily on an assumption that ocean areas like the Gulf are stably resilient, able to absorb and recover from an incessant series of environmental insults, ranging from widespread loss of wetlands to nutrient pollution and a dead zone to overfishing to continual releases of oil. By acknowledging that disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could push ecosystems across regime-shifting thresholds into new states, resilience thinking better captures the inherent and unavoidable risks that exploitative activities in the Gulf actually pose to the socio-ecological systems that depend on its continued productive functioning. As a result, resilience thinking can also suggest new and more comprehensive ways of thinking about oil spill liability that might bring about the reformations in offshore oil drilling regulation that many commentators seek.
Keywords: Deepwater Horizon, BP, Oil Spill, Oil Pollution Act, OPA, Clean Water Act, Resilience, Resilience Thinking
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Related eJournals
-
University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series
University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series
Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS4,083PAPERS1,012This Journal is curated by:Teneille R. Brown at University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law -
Florida State University Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper Series
Florida State University Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper Series
Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS3,382PAPERS1,152This Journal is curated by:Jake Linford at Florida State University - College of Law -
Built Environment eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS979PAPERS13,727 -
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) eJournal
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS824PAPERS13,231This Journal is curated by:Timothy M. Devinney at The University of Manchester - Alliance Manchester Business School -
Law & Society: Legislation eJournal
Law & Society: Legislation eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS813PAPERS8,094This Journal is curated by:Luis E. Fuentes-Rohwer at Indiana University Maurer School of Law -
Torts & Products Liability Law eJournal
Torts & Products Liability Law eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS812PAPERS8,680This Journal is curated by:Keith N. Hylton at Boston University - School of Law -
CSR & Management Practice eJournal
CSR & Management Practice eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS679PAPERS6,224This Journal is curated by:Timothy M. Devinney at The University of Manchester - Alliance Manchester Business School -
Politics & Energy eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS678PAPERS14,324 -
Food Industry eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS619PAPERS8,018 -
Law, International Affairs & CSR eJournal
Law, International Affairs & CSR eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS612PAPERS13,357This Journal is curated by:Timothy M. Devinney at The University of Manchester - Alliance Manchester Business School -
Water Sustainability eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS610PAPERS6,683 -
Human Rights & the Corporation eJournal
Human Rights & the Corporation eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS600PAPERS11,407This Journal is curated by:Timothy M. Devinney at The University of Manchester - Alliance Manchester Business School -
Institutions & Transition Economics: Environmental Issues eJournal
Institutions & Transition Economics: Environmental Issues eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS557PAPERS1,415This Journal is curated by:Erik Berglöf at Institute of Global Affairs, London School of Economics and Political Science -
Pollution eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS545PAPERS6,291 -
Sustainability Law & Policy eJournal
Sustainability Law & Policy eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS408PAPERS4,705This Journal is curated by:Robin Kundis Craig at USC Gould School of Law, J. B. Ruhl at Vanderbilt University - Law School, Erin Ryan at Florida State University, College of Law -
Environmental Law & Policy eJournal
Environmental Law & Policy eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS374PAPERS9,018This Journal is curated by:Holly Doremus at University of California, Berkeley - School of Law, Peter S. Menell at UC Berkeley School of Law -
Risk, Regulation, & Policy eJournal
Risk, Regulation, & Policy eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS362PAPERS5,761This Journal is curated by:Adam M. Finkel at University of Michigan School of Public Health, Alberto Alemanno at HEC Paris -
Natural Resources Law & Policy eJournal
Natural Resources Law & Policy eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS338PAPERS5,223This Journal is curated by:Jennifer Rushlow at Vermont Law School - Environmental Law Center -
Energy Law & Policy eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS331PAPERS3,795 -
Environmental Justice & Sustainability eJournal
Environmental Justice & Sustainability eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS267PAPERS3,831 -
Animal Law eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS214PAPERS1,186 -
Remedies eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS183PAPERS2,366This Journal is curated by:Douglas Laycock at University of Virginia School of Law -
Ecosystem Ecology eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS75PAPERS4,389 -
Marine Ecology eJournal
Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS10PAPERS544