Donald Boesch, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
The BP Deepwater Horizon blowout on April 20, 2010 triggered the largest offshore oil spill in history. Ten years later, post-spill reforms are being undone and the Gulf of Mexico remains vulnerable.
The ‘thin green line’ of resistance against any new infrastructure for shipping oil, gas and coal abroad has won many battles. But it faces a new source of pressure: the Trump administration.
Luis Hestres, The University of Texas at San Antonio
Whether they aim to stop pipelines in Virginia or block Pacific Northwest export terminals, organizers are trying to ‘keep it in the ground’ to save the climate.
Even if Asia buys most of the natural gas the U.S. will be exporting soon, America’s growing role in that market could wind up reducing Russia’s political influence in Europe.
Its plan to stop lending money for oil and gas projects embraces the spirit of the Paris agreement at a time when the U.S. is going in a different direction.
In Puerto Rico the Trump administration’s ‘energy dominance’ policy echoes colonial practices by fast-forwarding fossil fuel projects over community resistance.