KEN EADE’S BRENT MARKS THRILLER POIGNANTLY LETS US KNOW WHY WE SHOULD NEVER SAY, “JUST ANOTHER OIL SPILL.
After a large oil spill threatens the coastline of Santa Barbara, Lawyer Brent Marks’ girlfriend Rebecca takes on the big oil companies. Initial victories in her class action case lead to her all-out declaration of war against fossil fuels. When she turns up missing, a suspected victim of foul play, Brent finds himself questioning whether to continue with the case.
HERE’S A LOOK AT THE REALITY BEHIND THE BOOK. LIKE ALL OF KEN EADE’S MAJOR THRILLERS, REALITY IS JUST A SHORT STEP AWAY. NOVELS SUCK YOU IN TO THE HUMAN, EMOTIONAL SIDE OF REALITIES THAT OFTEN SEEM ABSTRACT IN DRY REPORTS AND STATISTICAL TABULATIONS OF TROUBLING REALITIES. BUT NOT IN THIS VIDEO.
‘THE BIG SPILL’S PLOT CHALLENGES THE DANGERS OF BIG OIL AND THE DIFFICULTIES IN TAKING IT ON AS A CAUSE? HERE’S WHAT KEN EADE SAYS ABOUT HIS TAKE ON RESEARCHING THE REFUGIO OIL SPILL.
‘The Refugio Oil Spill in May 2015 was not the largest oil spill by volume compared to its counterpart in 1969 or the Gulf of Mexico spill in 2010, but it was big enough to deposit over 142,000 gallons of crude oil into one of the most biologically diverse coastlines on the west coast and caused hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of damage. The spill was blamed on a negligently maintained corroded pipeline which remains closed to this day, but it highlights the dangers of offshore drilling in general, especially in this day and age where we are supposed to be lessening our carbon footprint. In my lifetime I have watched the government manipulated by special interests get away with a lot of things, offshore drilling being only one of them, but the thing that really surprises me is the lack of public outcry at the poisoning of our air, water and oceans, when it is entirely unnecessary to do so.
Offshore oil drilling specifically and drilling in general is contradictory to the policy of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and lowering our impact on climate change. The Gulf of Mexico spill alone proved that the oil companies’ modern technology, which they claim makes offshore drilling safe, cannot avert such as disaster, especially at such depths. And despite all the claims of safety, the transport of crude is unsafe and has resulted in many disastrous spills. Despite the fact that it is not safe and not environmentally sound, the Obama administration is considering permits for the southeast coast of the Atlantic, where reserves are estimated at 3 billion barrels of oil and 25 trillion feet of natural gas. Leasing has been scheduled for 2021. There are also plans to allow more leasing in the Arctic and the Gulf of Mexico.
The most surprising thing I came across in my research for this book was that, in 2013 California state legislators received reports that Santa Barbara channel offshore rig operators had been fracking off the coast since 2010. The lawmakers called for a federal investigation to look into it, declaring, “Hydraulic fracturing poses great potential dangers to our sea life and all California residents. This controversial well stimulation technique needs greater scrutiny, particularly when it potentially jeopardizes our coastal way of life. Whatever your position on climate change, it cannot be denied that, despite big oil’s claims of safety, there continue to be adverse consequences to the environment, local economies, and marine life from offshore drilling and these disasters are 100% preventable by not allowing offshore oil in the first place.
THE BIG SPILL, the 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill, sparked the green revolution in America, making way for the most comprehensive environmental legislation that the country has ever known. The first Earth Day was celebrated after the disaster. What happened to those environmentally conscious individuals? They couldn’t have all turned to money when the green revolution was forgotten in favor of the greenback revolution. We know this because more people in the country got poorer and the wealth has been concentrated in the hands of the one percent. We need to get back on the green bandwagon now, before it’s too late.
HERE’S AN EXCERPT OF THE BIG SPILL WHERE ATTORNEY, BRENT MARKS, FIRST HEARS OF AN EVENT WHICH WILL LEAD HIM INTO HIS NEXT CASE- A MISSING GIRL FRIEND POINTING TO HER INVOLVEMENT IN DEALING WITH A GRAVE ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE
Normally on a Friday afternoon like this day, Brent would head to the office to make his to-do list for Monday morning. Throughout the fluctuating degrees of his personal life, which varied from the company of his cat and an occasional outing with his friend, Jack Ruder, who performed the role of investigator in his business life, to passionate, yet seemingly fleeting relationships with strong and interesting women, the normally tenacious Brent had always made the rule for himself not to bring work home, unless he was in trial. But today was different. Brent and his his new girlfriend, Rebecca Bekker, an ex-client (Brent also had a rule never to date clients) had planned to take the rest of the week off for a romantic getaway up the scenic California coast. All of that changed when he received her frantic call.
“It’s another oil spill. Don’t they realize they’re killing our ocean?”
“Rebecca?”
“Sorry, Brent, I’m a public volunteer. I’ve got cleanup duty.”
“How long is that going to take?”
“I don’t know. Depends on how many gallons of crude oil those assholes have dumped this time. Sorry but we have to cancel our plans for this week.”
“Well, can I join you? With the cleanup?”
“I’d like to say yes, but we take special training for this. Not anyone can do it. I’ve got to go, Brent, they need me.”
Brent said good-bye to Rebecca and disconnected. She was the daughter of a client of his who had been murdered, and who had amassed a sizeable fortune before he had passed on. This had left Rebecca a very rich young lady, who wanted for nothing, which allowed her to concentrate on her passion – charitable work. She was an anti-war activist on the one hand and a champion for veterans’ rights on the other, but her strongest passion was protection of the environment. Rebecca was the opposite of what you would expect from a poor little rich girl. Magnanimous as she was alluring, her dark, doe-like eyes could stir up a ravenous appetite in any man. Those who tried to pierce her outer veil of beauty with the aspiration of grabbing onto her heartstrings, and, thus, her purse strings, were often disappointed by the sharp wit of her twenty-four year old mind. Brent had not been, and neither had she.
Eade, Kenneth (2016-10-15). Legal Thriller: The Big Spill: A Crime Thriller (Brent Marks Legal Thriller Series Book 10) (Kindle Locations 82-107). Times Square Publishing. Kindle Edition.
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KEN EADE- ALWAYS THINKING, DAYDREAMING, STRATEGIZING-
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