BP, oil and liability with Dianne Saxe
I recently spoke with Dianne Saxe about the BP oil spill and its larger implications. We tried to address a number of issues in 10 minutes, notably the massive conflict of interest between regulatory bodies and industry. As an example the US has re-branded the Mineral Management Service to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Enforcement, very subtle. In Canada we still have the Ministry of Natural Resources, which begs the question of what their purpose is – extracting minerals or protecting the environment?
Next we discussed liability issues on risky projects and how to safely ensure that a company has sufficient funds for a cleanup. In the U.S. they have the super-funds for cleanup and oil tankers pay into a common fund, but in Canada there is very little infrastructure for ensuring there is money in the bank to clean-up after a disaster.
Lastly, we briefly discussed the increased risks of an oil spill in cold waters where oil breaks down much more slowly and the wildlife and vegetation are more fragile.Consequently, an oil spill in cold Canadian waters could potentially be much, much more harmful than the disaster in the Gulf. Take a look at the video and send us your questions.
Other articles you might like:
| Subscribe via RSS feed. | Subscribe by E-Mail
wrote this on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
Comments
Leave a comment