A Preventable Crisis
Written by Dominique Harvieux
On April 20th 2010, Deep Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing eleven people and starting what is now the world’s biggest crisis of its kind. It had been suspected prior to beginning the project that an oil spill could have occurred; the men and women working on this project for the companies BP, Transocean and Halliburton, changed tests crucial to prevent a spill like this happening, and ignored facts that had proved there was a good chance of an oil spill happening.
The men and women of the three companies involved who headed these projects should be personally held responsible for allowing the oil spill to occur; they should be put into prison for serious crimes against the environment, as well as the companies paying billions of dollars for causing this problem, and fixing it. The money alone will not be enough justice for the human lifestyles that have been demolished and the immeasurable amount of wildlife that has been destroyed. Worthier laws to an environmental crisis such as this need to be created so future disasters can be prevented and the people involved will get the punishment that they deserve.
BP, Transocean and Halliburton have violated terms of the Clean Water Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Oil Pollution Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. There are consequences for violating terms of these acts and those held accountable should have to pay them. The Clean Water Act carries civil penalties, fines and criminal penalties; and even the Oil Pollution Act alone can be used to hold parties liable for cleanup costs and reimbursement for government efforts [1]. The question at hand is: when BP, Transocean and Halliburton run out of money, how will justice further be served?
In order for those accountable for the crisis to serve jail time, the government would need to show that BP or other companies were “negligent by acting without...