Overview

From the hill country in the north to the marshy lowlands in the south, Louisiana and its citizens have long enjoyed the hard-earned fruits of the oil and gas industry's labor. Economic prosperity flowed from pioneering exploration as the industry heralded engineering achievements and innovative production technologies. Those successes, however, often came at the expense of other natural resources, leading to contamination and degradation of land and water. In A Thousand Ways Denied, John T. Arnold documents the oil industry's sharp interface with Louisiana's environment. Drawing on government, corporate, and personal files, many previously untapped, he traces the history of oil-field practices and their ecological impacts in tandem with battles over regulation. Arnold reveals that in the early twentieth century, Louisiana helped lead the nation in conservation policy, instituting some of the first programs to sustain its vast wealth of natural resources. But with the proliferation of oil output, government agencies splintered between those promoting production and others committed to preventing pollution. As oil's economic and political strength grew, regulations commonly went unobserved and unenforced. Over the decades, oil, saltwater, and chemicals flowed across the ground, through natural drainages, and down waterways. Fish and wildlife fled their habitats, and drinking-water supplies were ruined. In the wetlands, drilling facilities sat like factories in the midst of a maze of interconnected canals dredged to support exploration, manufacture, and transportation of oil and gas. In later years, debates raged over the contribution of these activities to coastal land loss. Oil is an inseparable part of Louisiana's culture and politics, Arnold asserts, but the state's original vision for safeguarding its natural resources has become compromised. He urges a return to those foundational conservation principles. Otherwise, Louisiana risks the loss of viable uses of its land and, in some places, its very way of life.

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Reviews

What responsibility does the oil and gas industry have in restoring Louisiana's eroding coast? The answer can only come from a thorough understanding of the industry's environmental legacy. Written with the understanding that 'one's actions cannot unduly impair the rights of others, ' A Thousand Ways Denied is an important addition to the literature on the Gulf South's environmental history--and future.--Richard Campanella, author of The West Bank of Greater New Orleans: A Historical Geography and Cityscapes of New Orleans A Thousand Ways Denied is a deeply researched study of the myriad adverse environmental impacts of oil and gas development in Louisiana over the course of the twentieth century. Arnold's study is not only a valuable academic contribution to the energy and environmental history of Louisiana, but it is also an important historical accounting of operator negligence, environmental damages, and enforcement failures that should inform measures to rectify and compensate for the degradation of the state's land and water resources.--Tyler Priest, author of The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil's Search for Petroleum in Postwar America

A Thousand Ways Denied is a deeply researched study of the myriad adverse environmental impacts of oil and gas development in Louisiana over the course of the twentieth century. Arnold's study is not only a valuable academic contribution to the energy and environmental history of Louisiana, but it is also an important historical accounting of operator negligence, environmental damages, and enforcement failures that should inform measures to rectify and compensate for the degradation of the state's land and water resources.--Tyler Priest, author of The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil's Search for Petroleum in Postwar America What responsibility does the oil and gas industry have in restoring Louisiana's eroding coast? The answer can only come from a thorough understanding of the industry's environmental legacy. Written with the understanding that 'one's actions cannot unduly impair the rights of others, ' A Thousand Ways Denied is an important addition to the literature on the Gulf South's environmental history--and future.--Richard Campanella, author of The West Bank of Greater New Orleans: A Historical Geography and Cityscapes of New Orleans

Author Information

As a scientist and attorney, John T. Arnold has a diverse background in environmental matters. From wildlife researcher to expert witness to practicing lawyer, he offers a well-rounded perspective on natural resource conservation.

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