Dennis Takahashi-Kelso

The BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and well blowout was a human tragedy and an environmental disaster. As a nation, we watched in dismay while crude oil spread through much of the Gulf of Mexico, sullying crucial marine environments and stalling economic activity in the...

This week, the Senate passed the RESTORE Act as an amendment to the transportation bill so that the work of restoring the Gulf of Mexico can begin.

The RESTORE Act will direct 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines paid by BP and other responsible parties toward the...

Nearly two years after the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history, a trial to determine the liability of BP and other responsible parties is slated to begin this month. However, parties to the case may agree to a resolution at any time before or during the trial. A resolution...

Last week the Department of the Interior released its proposed program for offshore oil and gas leasing from 2012 to 2017. The proposed program calls for potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico as well as in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas north and west of Alaska. This...

Earlier this year, I asked whether we've learned enough to expand Arctic drilling based on our experiences with the Exxon-Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil disasters. My answer now is the same as it was then: a resounding "no."

The recent North Sea oil spill off the coast...

Last week, the US Geological Survey released a report that outlines gaps in science that must be filled in order to make wise choices about oil and gas development in America's Arctic -- specifically, in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The bottom line is that we have the...

Congress recently held its first hearings to consider the important and far-reaching recommendations of President Obama's National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. Along with questions about what went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon and how to help the Gulf recover, there was discussion of...

The final report of President Obama's National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling provides a chilling and comprehensive account of the lead-up and response to the BP oil disaster. We have much to learn from the sequence of events it lays out and...

This week the Department of Justice announced that they will pursue civil penalties under the Clean Water Act against BP and the seven other parties responsible for the oil disaster. Yet while DOJ moves forward, Congress still hasn't done its part by passing legislation to ensure environmental restoration is adequately...