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Well, it's impossible (and unfair) to claw back revenues from shareholders at this point, but we could require active oil/gas drillers to put up gigantic deposi
by brianpgordon 7y ago
Well, it's impossible (and unfair) to claw back revenues from shareholders at this point, but we could require active oil/gas drillers to put up gigantic deposits, held in escrow, which would be confiscated if they're unable to pay for environmental cleanup of spills they caused. If they can't afford the deposit, they can return capital to shareholders and cease operations. Of course, this will never happen "because jobs."
- jobigoud 7y agoI've been thinking the same for companies operating nuclear power plants, they should be forced to do this, provision funds according to the scale of losses in case of accident, or factor these potential losses in the price. Otherwise it's completely unfair to other technologies that don't yield similar environmental and social impact when they fail catastrophically.
- brianpgordon 7y agoI see your point but I think that might do more harm than good. When nuclear goes wrong it goes really wrong, but it's still way better than petroleum or coal. Discouraging nuclear is the last thing we need right now when oil companies have so little accountability for carbon emissions.
- AstralStorm 7y agoI'd like some "really wrong" examples that aren't 60 years old today. Even Fukushima was quite clean and it was a total compounded disaster... Three Miles Island is ancient already and limited in impact. Anything else? I can look and find examples of improper dust and ash disposal, mining accidents, incorrect filter operations daily, on the other hand. Sometimes fatalities too, every some years.