Attitudes toward offshore oil development: A summary of current evidence

Attitudes toward offshore petroleum have varied widely across both time and place. This paper summarizes the accumulated evidence from around the globe and then examines two regions that represent the polar extremes—both drawn from the same country and the same era—southern Louisiana and northern California, over the past two decades. The comparison illustrates that attitudes toward offshore oil development are best understood through a closer examination of the ways in which the offshore industry has interacted with a given region, over time, in terms of three sets of factors—the historical, biophysical, and social factors that shape the people and culture of a given place and time.