ExxonKnews
March 16, 2026
This piece is co-published by ExxonKnews and DeSmog, a leading outlet covering climate disinformation and accountability.
Scott Eustis is doing what he can to keep Louisiana afloat. As a veteran wetland and fisheries researcher and lifelong resident, he says he is sure of what caused the damage to the state’s delicate marshlands and drowning coast: the oil drilling that employed his grandfather decades prior.
“My granddad worked for these companies,” said Eustis. “If he were still alive, he would tell you, straight up: They owe us the land.”
For a century, oil companies dredged canals through coastal wetlands, dissecting marshes to get to and from wells, and dumped toxic wastewater into marshes and unlined earthen pits. Those wells, canals, pits, and leftover pollution were largely abandoned. Oil drilling is a dwindling portion of the state’s economy today, but its legacy is a fixture of the now-sinking landscape.
