I didn't know actually, I haven't yet complete reading this book. But I choose to select the title from the book written by former Shell president John Hofmeister, who says there are many reasons why people hate oil companies.
The infinite mess caused by BP in the Gulf of Mexico and the helplessness to reverse the damage, sends the shiver. Unless mentioned in the book (till now) people do hate the companies like BP for the irresponsible way of carrying the business, damaging the environment it is operating in.
Hating BP, however doesn't repair the damage to the nature. It definitely sent out the strong message to all other energy sources/companies not to operate in environmental hazards way.
As once said by Narayan Murthy -bigger the mistakes rely on government to resolve. ((Insead-Fontainblue-2008)"If you borrow 100 dollars, it is individuals' responsibility to pay off. If a bank borrows 100 million dollars, it's government responsibility to pay" )
Now the mistake (or blunder)caused by BP is the headache for the government and the society.
Who and how to bear/reverse the damages..
First, many people hate oil companies because of the notion that oil companies make windfall profits (just as people hate the banking segment) Second, there have been instances of the OPEC countries operating a cartel and adjusting production of oil supplies based on oil price fluctuations. Such measures have taken toll on inflation severely on many instances. Third, is the notion that oil companies preach about safety but do not actually implement them.
ReplyDeleteThe current BP crisis is just a random event. As proven by the Congress hearings last week, it could have been any oil firm and all were ill-equipped to handle a crisis, had there been an accident on their oil rigs.
The cost of the current damage and potential subsequent damages will be borne by the common man. While the creation of a separate fund is a good move, it does not resolve the problem completely. What the energy sector needs is for governments globally to subsidise investments in Green Energy projects so that the cost of energy from these resources come to par with that of oil energy