How Oil Drilling Liability Caps Led to Gulf Spill [View article]
The thing we need to keep in mind is the risk vs. reward aspect. Let me give you an example:
Let's say you were experimenting with risky chemical processes in your basement and by human (your) error, it blew your house up and killed you and your family. The potential disastrous consequences of risky behavior outweigh the care you may have taken to prevent the accident. You knew that the experiment could blow, you just took the risk that it wouldn't happen.
Some activities exist where the risk is so great in the event of a doomsday consequence, even if there is only a remote possibility of it occurring, that such activities must be treated differently. I think deep water drilling is one of them. We can't believe that BP didn't think of a doomsday consequence; they just thought the likelihood of it happening was remote. They obviously had no doomsday backup plan. And, if they are only required to pay $75 million ...
How Oil Drilling Liability Caps Led to Gulf Spill [View article]
Let's say you were experimenting with risky chemical processes in your basement and by human (your) error, it blew your house up and killed you and your family. The potential disastrous consequences of risky behavior outweigh the care you may have taken to prevent the accident. You knew that the experiment could blow, you just took the risk that it wouldn't happen.
Some activities exist where the risk is so great in the event of a doomsday consequence, even if there is only a remote possibility of it occurring, that such activities must be treated differently. I think deep water drilling is one of them. We can't believe that BP didn't think of a doomsday consequence; they just thought the likelihood of it happening was remote. They obviously had no doomsday backup plan. And, if they are only required to pay $75 million ...