Hydrocarbon hucksters : lessons from Louisiana on oil, politics, and environmental justice
Ernest Zebrowski
Bok · Engelsk · 2014
| Utgitt | Jackson : University Press of Mississippi , 2014
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| Omfang | xiii, 202 s. : ill.
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| Opplysninger | "Hydrocarbon Hucksters is the saga of the oil industry's takeover of Louisiana--its leaders, its laws, its environment, and, by channeling the flow of public information, its voters. It is a chronicle of m- ind-boggling scientific and technical triumphs sharing the same public stew with myths about the "goodness" of oil and bald-faced public lies by politicians and the captains of industry.It is a story of money an- d power, greed and corruption, jingoism and exploitation, pollution and disease, and the bewilderment and resignation of too many of the powerless. Most importantly, Hydrocarbon Hucksters is a case study of what happens when a state uncritically hands the oil and petrochemical industries everything they desire. Today, Louisiana ranks at or near the bottom of the fifty states on virtually every measure related to the quality of life--income, health, education, environment, public services, public safety, physical infrastructure, and vulnerability to disas- ters. Nor, contrary to the claims of the hydrocarbon sector, has there been much in the way of job creation to offset all of this social gri- ef. The authors (one scientist, the other an environmental lawyer) have woven together the science, legal history, economic issues, and national and global contexts of what has happened. Their objective is to raise enough national awareness to prevent other parts of the United States from repeating Louisiana's historical follies. The authors are uncle and niece, a generation apart, who have melded their conclusions from two separate tracks"--. - "Hydrocarbon Hucksters is the saga of the oil industry's takeover of Louisiana--its leaders, its laws, its environment, and, by rechanneling the flow of public information, its voters. It is a chronicle of mindboggling scientific and technical triumphs sharing the same public stew with myths about the "goodness" of oil and bald-faced public lies by politicians and the captains of industry. It is a story of money and power, greed and corruption, jingoism and exploitation, pollution and disease, and the bewilderment and resignation of too many of the po- werless. Most importantly, Hydrocarbon Hucksters is a case study of what happens when a state uncritically hands the oil and petrochemical industries everything they desire. Today, Louisiana ranks at or near t- he bottom of the fifty states on virtually every measure related to the quality of life--income, health, education, environment, public services, public safety, physical infrastructure, and vulnerability to disasters (both natural and man-made). Nor, contrary to the claims of the hydrocarbon sector, has there been much in the way of job creation to offset all of this social grief.The authors (one a scientist, the other an environmental lawyer) have woven together the science, legal history, economic issues, and national and global contexts of what has ha- ppened. Their objective is to raise enough national awareness to prevent other parts of the United States from repeating Louisiana's histor- ical follies. The authors are uncle and niece, a generation apart, who have melded their conclusions from two separate tracks"--. - Includes bibliographical references and index.
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| Emner | HISTORY / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Louisiana - Economic conditions Louisiana - Politics and government NATURE / Environmental Conservation & Protection Vis mer... POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Environmental Policy
Petroleum industry and trade - Environmental aspects - Louisiana Petroleum industry and trade - Political aspects - Louisiana petroleumsvirksomhet historie oljehistorie oljepolitikk sosiale forhold miljøvirkning louisiana usa |
| ISBN | 9781617038990
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