(Photo Credit: Rush Jagoe) Oil workers' bar in Louisiana.

Living in the South for this past summer has made one thing clear—  the Gulf Coastal states feel marginalized, and perhaps rightfully so, considering that Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama are among the poorest states in our nation. A human development study conducted by Oxfam comparing states in matters of health, education, and income concluded “that people in last-ranked Mississippi are living 30 years behind those in first-ranked Connecticut.” Similar results are shown for other coastal states. Revenues from offshore oil royalties would supply more than enough resources to develop schools, hospitals and other institutions.  Yet the 37.5 percent of shares allotted to the states in 2006, including $650 million per year to Louisiana alone, are not to begin until 2017.  Until then, the coastal states will feel the effects, yet none of the benefits, of offshore oil drilling. With the fishing industry crippled, a moratorium on oil drilling and BP’s lag with paying clean-up volunteers, too many have lost their sources of income. Residents’ reactions range from outrage to apocalyptic hysteria. Their very livelihoods have been destroyed by the largest marine water oil spill ever.

As the summer of disaster winds to a close, locals are concerned with more than simply making ends meet.   Hurricane season threatens to shake up the damaged region yet again, and human development has worn away at the coastal wetlands that naturally provide flood control.

Coastal wetlands act as ‘horizontal levees’ by weakening a hurricane as it makes its way towards inland cities. Ultimately, these natural storm buffers are the best and most effective method of hurricane protection. However, the coastal land loss in Louisiana alone is staggering. As described in a story by National Geographic, “despite nearly half a billion dollars spent over the past decade to stem the tide, the state continues to lose about 25 square miles (64.7 square kilometers) of land each year, roughly one acre (4,000 square meters) every 33 minutes.”

Since canal digging began nearly 60 years ago, for petroleum exploration and ship traffic, a dangerous doze of salt water has been introduced into the fresh water marshes. In native vegetation such as cypress trees, roots are unable to hold onto soil in salt water, which leads to erosion. Fresh layers of river sediment are no longer deposited from the Mississippi to replenish this loss. Levees are the culprits. They force sediment past soil starved marshes into deep ocean waters.  These same levees, that exist to protect the city of New Orleans, were deemed by a national panel of experts as  ‘designed to fail’ and responsible for most of the $81 billion worth in damages associated with Hurricane Katrina.

The BP oil spill isn’t good news for anyone. This spill will doubtlessly echo for many more years in its impacts on our environment, energy and seafood cravings. However, the people living in this mess are the ones who suffer and will suffer the most.  But is it a coincidence that the poor, less educated of the world, in this case the United States, are stuck bearing the environmental injustices of natural resource exploitation? Are natural resources coincidentally found only in the poorest of the world’s regions, or are there other factors guiding the decision of drilling in one place versus another?

Admittedly, the Gulf of Mexico makes up the largest chunk of the 115.1 billion barrels of total untapped crude oil available on Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) territory. However, in the same surveys done by the Mineral Management Service (MMS) and United States Geological Survey (USGS), it was found that the Los Angeles area contains sizable onshore and offshore oil fields. To be more specific, the southern California coast reserves are comparable to that of western coastal Florida oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico, not too far from the location Deepwater Horizon was operating. In addition, the New England coastline sports an equally promising potential sites for offshore drilling. What are the chances that companies would start drilling on those sites once the Gulf of Mexico is drained of petroleum? I can post this question another way— is it just as easy to exploit wealthier and more well-educated states as it is the poorest in our nation?

Roadside art reflects the anger of locals. Oil first hit mainland Louisiana on May 19.

Energy is the largest part of Louisiana's economy, followed by the seafood industry.

Fishing with his daughter is now only possible in the Bayou, which itself has not completely escaped the oil. The Mississippi River pushes the oil away from the Delta, near where it was spilled, to other shores.

Although the beaches are being cleaned of tar balls, when you put your hand in the ocean it comes out filmed in silk oil. Clear does not mean clean.

Grand Isle has historically been a popular summer destination for Louisianans. No tourists are to be found this year. 'For Sale' signs dominate road sides.

Oil on the Gulf Shores of Alabama. Before beaches are cleaned, it reeks of chemicals. Oil slick was first reported seen in the Gulf Shores on June 5. Photo credit: Jeffrey Justice

Oil found under the pier on a beach on the Gulf Shores of Alabama near Orange Beach. Photo credit: Jeffrey Justice

Louisiana has been worst hit by the spill, with Governor Jindal saying over 100 miles of coastline have been affected.

Local restaurants usually catering to tourists and fishermen now rely on weekly shifts to feed the clean-up crews. BP has begun hiring restaurants to provide their workers meals. But after almost a month, the owners of the Bridge Side Marina, above, have not seen a paycheck.

Restaurants as far away as New Orleans are being forced to "get creative" with their menus or temporarily close their doors, following the many fisheries that have shut down around the coast.