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Pius Utomi Ekpei / AFP - Getty Images, file
A man walks near spilled crude oil in the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the Nigerian oil-producing region of Ogoniland, in June 2010.
LONDON -- Around 11,000 Nigerian villagers who say their livelihoods were ruined in oil spills launched a legal battle Friday to seek compensation from Shell.
The case marks the first time any oil firm has faced claims in the U.K. from a community in the developing world for environmental damage caused by oil extraction operations, the villagers' lawyers said.
Shell, the largest international firm operating in Nigeria, admitted liability for two oil spills in August 2011. However, the two sides dispute the amount of oil spilled and the extent of the damage caused, one of the villagers' London-based lawyers told msnbc.com.
At the crux of the disagreement is whether the spills that devastated the area were due to so-called operational failures on the part of Shell, or if they were the result of sabotage, illegal refining and theft.
Farmers, fishermen
Shell Petroleum Development Company (Nigeria) has admitted responsibility for two spills amounting to around 4,000 barrels.
However, experts representing people in the Bodo community, a network of 35 villages whose inhabitants were mainly subsistence fishermen and farmers, maintain that amount is closer to 600,000 barrels, one of the villagers' lawyers told msnbc.com.
100 miles of oil: Spill likely Nigeria's worst in decade
"We have urged them to have their expert work with our expert," said Martyn Day of law firm Leigh Day & Co. "But (Shell has) totally refused."
Day said that negotiations broke down last week.
'No need for the legal activity'
Shell spokesman Jonathan French told msnbc.com that the firm cannot discuss details of the legal process, but said the company was dismayed that the case was going to court.
"There really has been no need for the legal activity which has delayed the the payout and cleanup," he said. "We accepted responsibility at the earliest point we could ... there was no need for this firm of London solicitors to take action."
PhotoBlog: Nigerian oil industry photos reveal extremes of poverty, wealth
"Nobody is saying is that there isn’t a problem with oil spills in the Niger Delta," French added. "The point is that there is this formula enshrined in Nigerian law that spells out level of compensation."
Instead of resorting to court, the villagers should have followed the process already in place in Nigeria, French said, adding that the involvement of law firms such as Leigh Day "can serve to delay compensation."
$1 billion cleanup tab in Nigeria oil mess, UN says
Shell paid out $4 million in compensation to victims of operational oil spills in 2009, and $1.7 million in 2010, French said.
Shell has been criticized for its behavior in Nigeria before.
In Aug. 2011, the United Nations released a report saying the company and the Nigerian government had contributed to 50 years of pollution in the Niger Delta that could need the world's largest ever oil cleanup. The work would take up to 30 years and require an initial tab estimated at $1 billion, the report said.
On February 17, Amnesty International issued a report saying that:
"Shell's failures persist despite significant evidence based calls on the company to make meaningful changes in the way it operates in the Niger Delta. In 2011 the evidence confronting Shell was confirmed in a ground-breaking study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that looked at the impact of oil pollution in the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta. The UNEP report confirmed that serious environmental damage had occurred in Ogoniland, one area of the Niger Delta, over many years. It found systemic failures in Shell’s approach to cleaning up pollution and rehabilitating land, which have exposed tens of thousands of people to a sustained assault on their economic, social and cultural rights."
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The ranting of Mr. Boehner yesterday would have us believe that oil and more of it is the answer to all of the world's problems. I predict that big oil will shift their funding to his possible presidential bid.
Shell kills people, sometimes Nobel Prize winners:
Quoted from http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/ken_sarowiwa/index.html
Shell denies it, but what happened is that Shell wanted this guy killed because he was protesting them. So they got the government to do it. Or, of course, you could believe because Shell says they didn't, they are totally innocent. Sort of like BP never bribed a Scottish Judge to release a terrorist who killed Americans for oil contracts in Libya.
I'm going to say you believe what you want, but I think the writing is on the wall with Shell. European oil companies make Exxon look downright saintly.
Talk about David vs. Goliath. Boehner and the rest of the oil junkies can even spin a defense for routing for Goliath. Who routes for Goliath??? WTF???
Environmental issues aside (although they are serious and should be treated as such, I just know that they'll be written off by the oil heads) why do we continue to invest in an energy source that will, inevitably run out?
Can anyone make that, make sense?
Sarah, It's quite simple. We NEED it. (No, not WANT it) We NEED it.
Until someone comes up with an alternative that is comparable. That can power our homes, hospitals, cars and trucks that bring clothing, food, and medicines to your local store.
I'm not saying it should be our 'long term' solution. it obviously can't - but until there is something else, it is a necessary evil.
Pun,
They have come up with alternatives. The oil lobby effectively killed the electric car.
http://www.altenergy.org/
We have enough knowledge and technology to begin the move off of fossil fuels, which will at least shrink the cluster-fu** of war, polution, and shady sh** we have surrounding us now. The more we move away from them, the more we will innovate and invent better ways regarding energy.
Instead of doing this, we continue to be obsessed with drilling. The ball has to start somewhere. It's flat out, money in politics that keeps this mess going.
I think we have to look at the things we do to other people for cheap oil. And our oil IS cheap. This goes beyond Democrats and Republicans, because I haven't seen either one coughing up at least double the price they pay at the pump voluntarily.
The question is, when is killing people okay to pay a few more dollars for something? This case about Shell is not a happy accident. This Dutch company stands aside at a minimum, and probably encouraged, the killing of a peaceful protestor so they could drill. We could blame the drilling, sure. But how about everyone can easily agree that murder isn't exactly ethical in any industry (or anywhere).
To this day, people defend the BP bribe of Scotland judges to release a terrorist. Is it that hard to not want to fill your tank partially in blood? I expect the same defense of Shell.
If what we paid for gasoline actually represented what the real price of a barrel of oil costs, we would have rioted in the streets and demanded alternatives long ago. The oil companies lobby our government for subsidies which keeps the price abnormally low in order to pacify consumers.
The free-market is not at work here, money in politics is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_cFi_kKbJM&feature=related
Except that even the electric car is being powered (recharged nightly) by fossil fuels that the electric company is burning. It didn't change anything. If everyone ran out and bought a volt or a leaf we would have huge issues on the electric generation from the electric companies. They would burn through all kinds of fossil fuel just to keep up with the demands for electricity. And then there is the huge problem with the battery in them. The huge cost and environmental issue of recycling those is enormous. The current state of the electric car maybe a baby step in the direction we want to go. (maybe more like an infant rolling over for the first time) But it has several huge problems that need to be addressed before it can even be considered to replace a gas engine.
Wind and Solar don't even come close to fossil. Hydro and nuclear are the only ones that are comparable in how much they generate, but nature can only support so many dams... and well nuclear.... (again environmental issues) I don't know enough about Tidal to comment on it.
I'm not saying abandon the EV. Not at all. It's just not ready to be marketed yet. They market these things too early (because of greed) and when they fail everyone just goes 'oh well' see it doesn't work, and goes back to what they were using. I would love to get off Fossil Fuels! So things like this story stop happening.
There will NEVER be an alternative to oil as long as oil can buy out any viable alternative in the works. If an alternative was indeed wanted by big oil and those who reep the benefits, then an alternative would have been found in the 70's.
It will NEVER be found unless it is forced by the poeple of this world for a real alternative to oil.
@Pun. Actually, utilities can run on natural gas, as well. Still needs to be drilled but its not oil. Anyway, it is NOT NECESSARY to murder people to get oil. Unless you want it cheap and you are Shell.
Sara,
what killed the electric car is that it does not replace a normal gas powered car for range, cost and ease of use. The oil subsidies you are talking about are normal deductions that all businesses get. The oil companies do not receive a direct subsidy to keep the oil or gas prices lower. Damming rivers is not an answer, the best or cleanest source of power we have right now is natural gas. Of course we have to drill for that as well. The electric car uses minerals and rare earth metals that have to be mined. These mines are of course mostly in third world countries and or China. China is working on becoming cleaner, but right now they are probably the worst polluters in the world.
SubNormal,
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/01/news/international/usgas_price/
http://ratiganreport.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/07/10340549-the-greedy-bastards-antidote-to-rigged-energy
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1809900,00.html
As for the electric car...
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/
http://ev1.org/
Sara,
Stop using your computer if you're against contributing to the demand for petroleum.
Petroleum was made in the manufacturing of that very computer you're using to protest petroleum.
Kind of ironic, isn't it?
The fact is until we can refine manufacturing techniques for all of these appliances that require petro in their production, you'll never see oil completely gone. Our best hope, currently, is to minimize it.
Also, where is all the energy coming from when you "plug-in" your electric car at night? It's not coming from a magic Green Unicorn Plant its more than likely coming from a Coal Powered Power Plant, or maybe, *gasp*, Nuclear.
RIP,
Really? Stop making straw man arguments. I'm fully aware of the petroleum used in manufactoring. Just because I am aware of the problem, doesn't mean to be sincere I need to go live in a tent somewhere and live off of the land.
You're right about minimizing it, that's the first step. So instead of continuosly throwing money into drilling, wars, lobbying, pipelines, yada, yada, yada... Let's start investing it in the alternative energy we do have now, which would inevitably lead to more innovation.
Also, that "energy" can come from any number of clean alternatives which we already have the technology for.
Sarah,
"You're right about minimizing it, that's the first step. So instead of continuosly throwing money into drilling, wars, lobbying, pipelines, yada, yada, yada... Let's start investing it in the alternative energy we do have now, which would inevitably lead to more innovation."
Solyndra, anyone?
"Also, that "energy" can come from any number of clean alternatives which we already have the technology for."
Right, since we're so equipped in alternative energy power plants to charge these cars.
Thats like saying we COULD/CAN charge it using methane from farts. Everything sounds good in theory, but its entirely unrealistic.
RIP,
Funny, but damn silly if you've been reading. Have you? The point isn't about stopping using the oil. The point is paying the proper price for it, allowing other technologies to come to light that allow better efficency and other sources, and to stop murdering people over it. That's aside from all the politically charged arguements, but I'll stay clear of those for now.
Derek,
The argument shifted over rather quickly, I have been reading. It shifted from price speculation to possible causes and effects, then overwhelmingly to opinions about Shell and oil in general. The fact you can't see how they all tie together is the truly startling part.
If you want to talk about prices, its simple supply and demand mixed in with the horrible devaluing of the Dollar. Couple in factors such as OPEC, who manipulate the value, the Middle East conflicts, and voila, "Rocket Science."
RIP,
Solyndra??? Tell me, had I stood in front of the Hyndenberg and spoke about the future of air travel, would I have been wrong about the future of air travel?
Sarah,
You clearly have visions unparralled to the rest of the world.
You're statement referring to Hindenberg is truly hilarious, it's comparing apples to oranges.
The issue here is everyone owns a car, Sarah.. If everyone owned a blimp right now that chugged gas, you're statement would hold merit.
I think you're trying to get across the point that " People are skeptic at first to change naturally, but history proves most of them wrong. " (??) If so, I do agree with that broadly, but come on thats a bit of a stretch in this case, dont you think?
Only trying to be reasonable here. We both breathe the same air. :)
RIP, Look at you and your condescending tone. I'm pointing out that this article about Shell actually DOES have something horrible about it everybody can agree on, and if you want to go and say 'it all ties together,' frankly, even if I believed your statement to be true (which I don't) then maybe when it comes to people dying, it shouldn't all be tied together.
Seriously, if you are all about the oil companies, you should be pointing out the difference between an American company like Exxon, and its competition. They aren't the same. For example, how about taking note that Exxon hasn't either gotten terrorists off the hook in Scotland or gone and murdered people in Nigeria to make a deal.
Frankly, if you are pro-big oil, the whole 'tied together' arguement actually works against you.
I'm leaving early for the weekend, so you can go win with the last word if you want. I'm outta here!
RIP,
Actually, my statement is right on point. If you want to use Solyndra as a reason to disregard alternative energy.
And no, I don't think that's a stretch at all. Please, show me an historical example where people rush to embrace change. We normally have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the next greatest thing, and it takes us forever to admitt we were wrong.
If you add into that today's overwhelming media cycle, which is bought, sold, and manipulated by those with a vested interest in keeping the status quo in place and the unholy alliance of money in politics being used to protect the current system, yeah, people are brainwashed into thinking things are just fine as is.
They're not. And the saddest part is that we have the capability to begin changing them for th better, today, but people run around screaming "Solyndra" as though one bad company discredits alternative energy. No it doesn't, no more than the Hyndenberg discredited air travel.
Sarah,
Thanks for the links, but really have your read them?
Having a car that can only carry two people in not an answer.
Guess what most car companies now have electric vehicles, so i hardly consider the electric car dead. Reading the article there was more negative talk about the EV1 than positive.
Taxing energy higher just to turn around and give it back does not make any sense either.
I do not know about you, but I cannot always wait for 10-12 hours before I have to use the car. Also it does not save me any money nor is it cleaner for the environment to have two vehicles.
I agree that we can do better, we need to focus on being cleaner. Solar windows make at least a little sense, since you will need the window any ways. A solar power plant or a wind farm takes up a lot of land that could be used for other things, like maybe growing food, or replanting trees.
Increasing the population density is not the answer either. Most of the larger cities have pollution problems due to this density. Even when they have mass transit trains or subways. There is a cost to everything and trade off to everything. We need to better manage these costs and benefits. We also need to look at the true cost from raw materials to delivered product.
What do you consider a clean alternative?
Nor is continuing on fossil fuels.
Stop making excuses. What good reason do we have, not to begin to move in this direction? Excuses are not reasons, they're, well, excuses.
The only reason one would so adamently oppose moving as fast as we can off of fossil fuels would be because they are afraid of change.
I understand the need for babysteps, and we are in a position to begin taking them. To continue to deny that and refuse to, is to be left behind.
You may be comfortable with THAT, but I'm too young to accept it.
Sarah,
You're missing the point about Solyndra.
We shouldn't subsubsize something that has absolutely no demand(yet) at the expense of the already over-burdened taxpayer.
Apples and oranges.
Stop your ranting and read what I'm saying.
I agree we need to, in the future, move towards "greener" energy.
Currently, its impossible to switch over entirely.
Subnormal - You hit the nail on the head with population. People are so worried about the future of energy but the obvious and most contributing factor is overpopulation. All the chevy volts in the world can't get people clean water, which is MOST DEFINITELY a bigger hurdle in the near future.
What I find hilarious is that I'm greener than most liberals that are ranting about being "green", because I haven't increased my carbon footprint.
As a matter of fact, I'd bet my paycheck that I actually walk the walk when most of them just talk the talk. I recycle everything, and I ride a bike to and from work three times a week. Oh yes, and I'm conservative, I just live in reality. I never laugh harder than when a liberal is smoking a ciggarette telling me about clean energy.
Sarah, I hope that you keep up your thoughtful conversation. Whether it is a blimp or the moon we have to break down the paradigm of fossil fuel. No one can even count the innovations brought on by space exploration. Can you imagine the cries today if only moon dust was returned. A two seated electric auto is only "one small step...".
sarah,
So let me ask this, what actually do you want?
We have invested in cleaner energy. You talk about the true costs, how is it a good thing to have a $7500.00 credit on a $40,000.00 car? If the consumer feels that they want to be clean, or get better gas mileage or have an electric car, that is fine.
I do have a huge problem of trading one dependency with another. That is what I see happening with Solar, wind and electric cars. While some of those things are produced here, we cannot compete right now in the world market due to our high labor costs. If we make the cost of energy increase we will be even less competitive.
Shell kills people for oil. Sometimes Nobel Prize winners. This is no surprise.
Shell oil must think that indigenous peoples like those in Nigeria and in South American countries are deaf, dumb, stupid and have no way of speaking out about the atrocities committed by Shell and other mega-companies. The day has come when the world can watch and hold them accountable. This is happening in South America just as in Nigeria. Shell Oil, BP and other conglomerates do as they please, believe no one is holding them responsible and the only reason it isn't happening in our backyards in the US is because we have a better understanding of our rights.
I don't deny there were damages received by many in Nigeria. But 10,900 of the victims are probably making false claims. It is a shame so many are crooked in that country.
Of course they dont want them to file a suit in the UK where they will probably get a bigger payout. Something tells me shell spent a good amount of money in nigeria to set up those compensation payout formulas to favor them over the potential claiments. I am just speculating, but why else would they favor a foreign court over their own? I may be wrong, but I bet I am pretty close to the mark.
There's lots of gas brands. Boycott Shell. We have a lot more power as purchasers than we use.
This is a big sophisticated company with highly educated managers and a high paid legal staff. You can bet that 50 years ago, when they first invaded the delta, they did so with no regard for the people who lived there. After all, what could a bunch of uneducated tribes do about the way they operated. That the Nigerian government and Shell have a standard compensation formula is not surprising. The formula likely provides pennies when it should be providing thousands of dollars. Exploitation like this is going to come to a halt as the spread of technology raises the education level of populations throughout the world. It would be great if people in developing countries who have been so ruthlessly exploited by big heartless corporations would rise up and sue these modern day slave drivers out of existence.
The difference in the barrels spilled is enough to start legal action. Was it 4,000 barrels or 600,000, seems as if the british oil companies have a problem with the truth (remember BP). Amazing how fast the british respond to a military problem, but deny the cause of oil spill problems that effect 100 million plus people is no problem. The British are becoming more like the leading enviorment terrortist nations in the world that can not control their oil spills cause by their british controlled oil companies. Any country that lets a british oil company drill for oil needs to have a billion dollar deposit for the coming oil spills. The greed of the british oil countries is unmatch in the world.
You're right. We should blame the British for a Dutch company, owned by a Swiss and run by a Finn.
Is this the same country that keeps sending me emails saying I had a rich oil executive relative that recently died and they need to send me 11 million dollars he left behind? I think so. Wonderful.
I hope with all my heart that the Nigerian people end up receiving billions of dollars from the oil company.
For decades the big oil companies have been destroying the environment and the ecological niches that these people live in, with damage that will last decades if not more to recover from, and they have been getting away with paying out very small amounts, nothing in the real true amounts it would take to support these people and the environments they destroy.
They come into areas and end up doing billions of dollars worth of damage to the environment, and are never held responsible for the long term/range effects they unleash upon the environments, it is time these environmental polluting, environmental killing gigantic oil companies are held responsible for the real long term damage they cause.
Good for them. I hope they win their case.
The amount of oil polluting the greater Niger Delta is a crime against humanity. If it was happening to rich white people the news would PLAY NON STOP about how bad it was, remember Deep Water Horizon? Since it isn't happening to the 1st world and threatening affluent white folks locations there is a somber silence to thos horror.
Why does the world still run off of a goo sucked from the ground? This is the 21st century but we're still working with 19th century ideas why? Beyond so rich guys can get richer I mean.
and the "rich" ppl say things like you don't want us to drill, we need oil..
Two Hundred miles on two gallons of gas.
Documentary "Gashole"
They refuse to talk. But the say that there is no need for legal action. WOW!
Shell is to partially to blame on this, however there is also the fact that the pipe lines are constantly being tapped for black market oil. They drill a hole in the pipe, fill up the barrels that they have and then leave it leaking. I am not sure how any one can stop that other than not drilling there in the first place. I am sure that if you total up all that is spilled by accident, and what ends up being spilled on purpose that it would add up to millions of barrels. There is little doubt that the locals are being taken advantage of by both their government and the large oil companies.
I hope they win.
1. they were self-sufficient before, now they have crappy useless land
2.companies need to be responsible for their mistakes
3.oil drilling has to be done in a responsible manner
3. is a worthless point... IMO
No matter how responsible they are, eventually an accident will happen.. and then you/others will be right back at it claiming they have to do it responsibly..
If you watch the documentry called "Gas Hole", there sugesting that this company was also behind the murder of Diesel (Who developed Diesel Fuel) back in early 1900's. Also may be responsible for the killing of a yiou man in his twenties for developing a car that ran on water. His body was found in dessert near Las Vegas of an overdose. Problem was he was being followed by Oil Men and according to people who knew him, he didn't use drugs. This documentry also showed that when the oil men were called to terstify before congress, it was the only time that the oath or swearing to the Bible to tell the truth was ordered NOT GIVEN by head of committee.
Ralphy1 - You need to get back on your meds and put some more aluminum foil in your windows (yes the little green men are watching you). I've always loved that story how one and only one person in this big world figured out how to run a car on water and Big Oil decided to murder him (do like your Vegas twist, that is new). Guess all the universities and colleges pumping out engineers and scientists are just wasting time compared to your homicide victim, what a pity !!!
I'm glad this is finally starting to make international headlines and good to hear that they are finally standing up for themselves. Royal Dutch Shell has been doing this for YEARS, and has been able to get away with it because they know that no one cares about what happens in Africa. Anyway, Sarah is totally on point. There are other alternatives to fossil fuels but the powers that be keep them at arms length so these oil companies can continue to make billions while we choose between putting gas in the car and buying groceries. Let's be real, no alternatives are going to give us the power of a combustible engine, but frankly, and I say this as a mustang owner, I will be willing to give up speed if it saves me money. Alternative fuels need to be the bridge to something better period. Hybrids are a great start, ethanol 85 (instead of that 10% crap), electric cars, hell even better fuel economy (45mpg) are all great ways to bridge the gap to better technology. If it works everywhere else, why can't it work here?
I'm amazed to see this article and the image accompanying it made it to the light of day in the mainstream press. Wow. Multiply this image and petro-goo-filled nastiness by the thousands and you have the oil cat out of the bag.
End subsidies for big petro, and we'll be well on our way to freeing ourselves from all the nastiness that comes with our addiction to it.
Everyone that thinks that oil is the way to go should have to relocate to these affected areas and deal with the damage and poisoned land. I bet you will not find a single proponent of big oil willing to swap. It's easy to say that as long as this doesn't affect me personally there is nothing wrong with it. Once we no longer have clean air to breath or clean water to drink what will be next? People are already buying bottled water because they don't trust whats coming out of their faucets and those with breathing problems are buying oxygen for their homes in cities with poor air quality. Our oceans are turning acidic and our land is dying while our climate is warming and storms are increasingly more violent due to climate change. The very fluid that helps protect the mantle of our continents from melting is being pumped out and replaced with water which has a much lower boiling point and creates pressures that result in more seismic activity than would normally be occurring. No one single event has such far reaching consequences across such a broad spectrum of our habitat than oil and no greater opposition is raised against the development of green energy and Eco friendly development and invention than is done by the oil industry.
Everyone who complains about oil companies should stop using oil and all products made with oil today...
This includes the following.. Stop complaining about oil and then supporting them by using things made with petroleum.. hypocrites..
Solvents
Diesel fuel
Motor Oil
Bearing Grease
Ink
Floor Wax
Ballpoint Pens
Football Cleats
Upholstery
Sweaters
Boats
Insecticides
Bicycle Tires
Sports Car Bodies
Nail Polish
Fishing lures
Dresses
Tires
Golf Bags
Perfumes
Cassettes
Dishwasher parts
Tool Boxes
Shoe Polish
Motorcycle Helmet
Caulking
Petroleum Jelly
Transparent Tape
CD Player
Faucet Washers
Antiseptics
Clothesline
Curtains
Food Preservatives
Basketballs
Soap
Vitamin Capsules
Antihistamines
Purses
Shoes
Dashboards
Cortisone
Deodorant
Footballs
Putty
Dyes
Panty Hose
Refrigerant
Percolators
Life Jackets
Rubbing Alcohol
Linings
Skis
TV Cabinets
Shag Rugs
Electrician's Tape
Tool Racks
Car Battery Cases
Epoxy
Paint
Mops
Slacks
Insect Repellent
Oil Filters
Umbrellas
Yarn
Fertilizers
Hair Coloring
Roofing
Toilet Seats
Fishing Rods
Lipstick
Denture Adhesive
Linoleum
Ice Cube Trays
Synthetic Rubber
Speakers
Plastic Wood
Electric Blankets
Glycerin
Tennis Rackets
Rubber Cement
Fishing Boots
Dice
Nylon Rope
Candles
Trash Bags
House Paint
Water Pipes
Hand Lotion
Roller Skates
Surf Boards
Shampoo
Wheels
Paint Rollers
Shower Curtains
Guitar Strings
Luggage
Aspirin
Safety Glasses
Antifreeze
Football Helmets
Awnings
Eyeglasses
Clothes
Toothbrushes
Ice Chests
Footballs
Combs
CD's & DVD's
Paint Brushes
Detergents
Vaporizers
Balloons
Sun Glasses
Tents
Heart Valves
Crayons
Parachutes
Telephones
Enamel
Pillows
Dishes
Cameras
Anesthetics
Artificial Turf
Artificial limbs
Bandages
Dentures
Model Cars
Folding Doors
Hair Curlers
Cold cream
Movie film
Soft Contact lenses
Drinking Cups
Fan Belts
Car Enamel
Shaving Cream
Ammonia
Refrigerators
Golf Balls
Toothpaste
Gasoline
Steve W....
The funny part about this is that much of this stuff was made out of other materials and was much better constructed before we started synthesizing the parts from petroleum products. when cars, boats and most of the toys that children had were made of metal and wood they were much more durable.
BP isn't the only company w/ spills. There are lots of them we don't hear about. And oil company profits? Where do people think the billions expended to clean up these spills comes from? The tax payers? Suppose BP had no reserves --- think about it.
The Dutch in Nigeria drilling for oil, makes me sick to my stomach that they're still in Africa plundering the land. I hope that the Nigerians win their lawsuit and that this story goes viral! It's just the tip of the iceberg of the greed based injustices going on in African countries for the sake of oil.
Many types of business operate without destroying the environment and peoples lives - there is NO EXCUSE for the oil companies behavior. The fact of the matter is, they can operate WITHOUT destroying the environment and other peoples lives if they wanted to.
It's past time to nationalize the oil companies. The government's more likely to operate the oil companies responsibly. One things for sure, the current owners of the oil companies are NOT acting responsibly!
Sarah, I read your posts, and I agree with you!