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Smoke billows from controlled oil burns near the site of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in June 2010.
(Derick E. Hingle / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Article October 15, 2021

I Investigated the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. When Will We Learn From Our Mistakes?

As we find ourselves in the grip of another catastrophe, it’s worth reflecting on how the nation and the oil industry responded to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon.
(Photo Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)
From the Experts April 20, 2022

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Anniversary Is a Grave Reminder of Why Not to Trust the Oil Industry

The only thing we can truly trust this industry to do is fight to preserve its business model and secure profits for its shareholders.

A brown pelican covered in oil sits on the Louisiana coast in June 2010. Oil from the <em>Deepwater Horizon</em> has affected wildlife throughout the Gulf of Mexico. (Charlie Riedel / AP)
Press Release April 18, 2024

Gulf and Environmental Groups React to Congressional Letter Calling on Interior Department to End Rubber Stamping of Offshore Oil Drilling Projects

Letter comes on eve of the 14th anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon spill

Loggerhead sea turtles are among the marine creatures vulnerable to seismic testing for gas and oil.
(Vladimir Wrangel / Getty Images)
Update August 20, 2024

Court Win Protects Endangered Whales and Sea Turtles From Oil Drilling

Judge strikes down federal assessment that allowed dangerous oil and gas drilling to kill imperiled wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil leaks in the Gulf and smoke plumes over the BP Deepwater Horizon platform after it exploded on April 20, 2010.
(MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS JUSTIN STUMBERG / U.S. NAVY)
Article July 2, 2019

Estamos Demandando Con el Fin de Prevenir El Próximo Derrame de Crudo Como el de Deepwater Horizon

Exenciones y restricciones a la Regla del Control de Pozos ponen en riesgo muchas vidas

Dark clouds of smoke and fire rise from a controlled oil fire in the Gulf of Mexico following the April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.
(MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS JUSTIN STUMBERG / U.S. NAVY)
Article July 1, 2019

We’re Suing to Prevent the Next BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster

Waivers and rollback of Well Control Rule put lives at risk.

A Rice’s whale, one of Earth’s rarest whales. (Lisa Conger / Beth Josephson / Permit #21938 / NOAA Fisheries)
Press Release: Victory August 20, 2024

Court Orders Government to Protect Rare Gulf Whales, Sea Turtles, and Imperiled Marine Species from Damaging Effects of Offshore Drilling

Court rules that the official biological opinion is not adequate to protect species

Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon.
(Photo Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)
Press Release May 2, 2019

Trump Administration Weakens Post-Deepwater Horizon Offshore Drilling Safety Regs

Rule repeal will remove critical safeguards to prevent another well blowout and oil spill

In the News: Inside Climate News June 21, 2021

As the Gulf of Mexico Heals from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Stringent Safety Proposals Remain Elusive

Chris Eaton, Attorney, Oceans Program, Earthjustice: “It’s important to make sure that to the extent that there is oil and gas development still happening, that it’s done safely.”

A wildlife biologist holds an oil-impacted young Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, found in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in 2010. (Tim Donovan / FWC / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Press Release April 12, 2024

Biden Administration Approves Largest Offshore Oil Export Terminal in the U.S.

Unprecedented oil exports are clearly not in the public interest

Rice's whale, photographed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rice's whales -- also known as Gulf of Mexico whales -- are members of the baleen whale family Balaenopteridae. With likely fewer than 100 individuals remaining, Rice's whales are one of the most endangered whales in the world. (NOAA)
Update September 22, 2023

Oil Companies Are Trying to Grab an Endangered Whale’s Small Pocket of Ocean

There are about 50 Gulf of Mexico whales left in the world, and oil and gas development is the greatest danger to their survival.

Press Release January 19, 2023

Lawsuit Challenges Approval of Sea Port Oil Terminal

Massive Gulf coast deepwater oil export terminal violates federal law

 Sheila Tahir, the bike ride manager with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, demonstrates how the organization collects air samples for testing during a bicycle tour in Norco, Louisiana on March 16, 2022. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
Article March 29, 2024

How Gulf of Mexico Residents Are Pushing Back on the Oil and Gas Industry

Locals aren’t letting dirty industry expand in the Gulf without a fight.

The Development Driller III in the Gulf Of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. (Gerald Herbert / AP)
Press Release March 13, 2024

Gulf, Alaska, and Environmental Groups File Motion to Intervene in Oil Industry Lawsuit Against Interior Department’s Five-Year Offshore Leasing Plan

Groups aim to defend against industry efforts to maximize offshore drilling in public waters

For more than 100 million years, sea turtles have charted the seven seas. (Irina Kozhemyakina / iStockphoto)
From the Experts February 8, 2024

Animal Magnetism: Sea turtles may follow Earth’s pull to navigate home

We’re fighting to protect the Gulf’s imperiled species as oil and gas corporations run freighters through precious habitat, drill deeper, and blast along the Gulf floor.

A tension-leg oil production platform burns off unrecoverable gas and leaves a plume of smoke in the Gulf of Mexico.
(Land by Sea / Getty Images)
Press Release October 21, 2020

Lawsuit Challenges Inadequate Federal Review of Endangered Species in Gulf of Mexico

Agency ignores Deepwater Horizon tragedy, science in biological opinion for offshore oil and gas activities

A bowhead whale and calf surface in the Arctic Ocean.
(Amelia Brower / NOAA)
feature October 20, 2021

Northern Fights

By land and by sea, America’s Arctic is under attack. Earthjustice is fighting on multiple fronts to protect this irreplaceable region and keep the Arctic’s fossil fuels in the ground.

A controlled burn of oil from the BP oil spill sends towers of fire hundreds of feet into the air over the Gulf of Mexico on June 9, 2010. More than 200 million gallons of oil polluted the Gulf of Mexico during the 201 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. (PO1 James Masson / U.S. Coast Guard)
Press Release July 12, 2023

Gulf and Environmental Groups Call on Interior Department to End Routine Fast-Tracking of Offshore Oil Drilling Projects

Petition outlines how decades-old use of “categorical exclusion” allows companies to skip over risk assessments in oil and gas “sacrifice zone”