BP's spill is not a great example of the evanescence of traditional industry. Despite the "catastrophe" you reference, their market cap is still $130 B and the

BP's spill is not a great example of the evanescence of traditional industry. Despite the "catastrophe" you reference, their market cap is still $130 B and they pay out 5% in dividends... (In fairness, there's a lot of faith involved in your broker doing the trade in BP, the ADRs if applicable, the DTCC holding your actual shares, etc., but not a lot of faith required to believe that thousands of people are actually drilling useful shit out of the Earth for BP's owners.)