Externalized costs and corporate greed

[lostnfound]

Destroyed by the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, costs which won't be compensated:

Increased costs to consumers -- for seafood, possibly crops, and anything shipped through the Gulf
Real estate values impacted
Health costs to humans for decades to come -- from toxic residues in seafood, fumes, air pollution, and emotional stress
Cost of fresh water on Florida's West Coast
Quality of life
Way of life lost for many families

Regarding the costs that they supposedly will have to reimburse -- such as lost income for fishermen -- will that be for one year, five years, 20 years? Will it include the losses of all downstream businesses, like the truckers the carry the fish or the diner that cooks for the fishermen? There will be no penny assigned for the loss of the pelicans or the small fishes who die at sea.

In corporate executive suites:
Caution is underappreciated
Humility is not valued
Concern for externalized costs is undesirable
A certain amount of arrogance and hubris are career assets

Several people in real life continue to mention that nuclear power is the solution, which I find absurd. Tony Hayward's twin or Ken Lay's twin will end up in the top job someday, and the TV 'news' will have more tragedy to cover. Not every CEO or top executive is unethical or incompetent, but there is constant pressure on the decision process in executive row to deliver profits in the short term at all costs.

[droidamus2]

1. Nuclear?

Actually when they say nuclear just read that as centralized. Whether it be continued use of oil, natural gas, clean coal (whatever that is) or nuclear the corporate types are always going to support the solution that centralizes the control of power generation. How else are they going to be able to gouge us on a continuing basis for our power. If everybody got into solar and wind power generation at the local and individual level they would lose control of their cash cow or at least have their profits greatly reduced.

[lostnfound]

2. I agree with your characterization. Centralized vs dispersed is something that

is good to focus on.