This book chronicles the American response to oil spills from the early days of well blowout gushers in Pennsylvania, Texas and California in the 19th and early 20th centuries through the first few months of the second Trump Administration. The book is an in-depth exploration of spill responses, cleanup methods, natural resource damages, media coverage, oil exploration and transport safety issues, property damages litigation, compensation programs, and public policy responses in eight American oil spills. Spills studied include the seminal 1969 Santa Barbara, California oil spill that led to the first Earth Day celebration, the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster that coated 1,300 miles of pristine Alaskan wilderness coastline, and the Deepwater Horizon well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the most expensive spill in American history. The book should be of interest to real estate economists, real estate valuers, environmental organizations, lawyers, and public policy makers interested in understanding how oil spills impact shoreline real estate markets.
