Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, has been among the most vocal in calling for an end to the oil leak in the Gulf and its containment to protect the state’s vulnerable wetlands. It is a rallying cry expected of him, given Louisiana’s fragile ecosystem.

The wetlands make up a very small percentage of the total land found in the country, and yet southern Louisiana contains about 40 per cent of these wetlands across the country. They are an important breeding ground for aquatic life, as well as a source of flood control, water purification and a buffer from storms. Yet they have been disappearing at an alarming rate of 25 square miles of wetlands each year, or what residents like to quote - a football field sized area every 30 minutes. As the oil began washing into the marshlands, Jindal made a point in May to emphasise their importance in a statement:

The oil is no longer just a projection or miles from our shore. The oil is here. It is on our shores and in our marsh. To put this in perspective, our state has already lost 2,300 square miles of coastal lands since the 1930s.  This is like losing the entire state of Rhode Island or Delaware. This is the same area that is home to one of our nation’s most productive estuaries. We have been working aggressively to reverse this trend of coastal land and wetlands loss. …Our state was on track to have the lowest rate of land loss in 80 years as a result of our efforts and investments in our coast.  Our shrimpers were rebounding, our oyster fishermen were recovering and our coastal communities were rebuilding. This spill fundamentally threatens Louisiana’s way of life.

One would think, then, that Jindal would support the Obama Administration’s efforts to prevent another spill by imposing a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling in the Gulf to ensure there are enough safety precautions being taken by the industry and regulators. But Jindal is conflicted.