Attitudes to environmental issues change after BP oil spill

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found residents of Florida and Louisiana, two regions highly affected by the BP oil spill, have changed their minds about the need for environmental protection since the spill. The spill was one of the largest in history, with 4.4 million barrels escaping into the ocean.

"If disasters teach any lessons, then experience with the Gulf oil spill might be expected to alter opinions about the need for environmental protection. About one-fourth of our respondents said that as a result of the spill, their views on other environmental issues such as global warming or protecting wildlife had changed," said Lawrence Hamilton, professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, who worked on the research.

"This proportion rose to 35 percent among those most affected economically by the spill. People reporting changed views also expressed greater concern about sea level rise due to climate change, more support for a moratorium on deepwater drilling, and were more likely to favour alternative energy rather than increased oil exploration," he said.

The research considered over 2,000 residents of the regions from April 2010 through to September. Perhaps surprisingly, residents of Louisiana were less likely to be inclined towards a moratorium on oil extraction in the bay, although they did say they saw more severe potential consequences from extreme weather and climate change.

Hamilton explains this with the culture of the region, "The pattern of responses from coastal Louisiana, where many more people reported effects from the spill, extreme weather, or threats from climate-related sea-level rise -- but fewer supported a deepwater moratorium, alternative energy, or resource conservation -- reflects socioeconomic development around oil and gas. Specialization has been channelled partly by physical characteristics of the Louisiana coastline itself." Oil brings in around $65 billion a year to the Louisiana economy.

"Florida's Gulf Coast geography supported development in different directions, so today there are fewer oil-related jobs but much amenity development also at risk from spills and climate effects. From a perspective shaped by this different coastal landscape, steps that might reduce such risks while slowing oil and gas development appeared more attractive."