Martin & Jones Blog  filter by tag: oil_spill

After the Exxon Valdez oil spill created long-term ecological and economic damage to the Prince William Sound area of Alaska, the oil industry persuaded the U.S. Congress to give it a $75 million liability cap for damages for future oil spills.  Today, as the BP offshore oil rig disaster continues to wreak havoc on the Gulf of Mexico and the communities that depend on it, BP may be shielded from fully compensating the people, industries and ecosystems it has harmed even though the damages will surely reach billions.  This is tort reform on a grand scale, and shows how unfair and unwise it is to give private industry blanket protections from responsibility for future negligence or recklessness.  In the quest for profit, why should BP or any other oil company invest more in safety when they have such big protection from being held accountable for their actions?