...monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. If you go to http://www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/historical-environmental-topics you can see the variety of environmental topics that have been tackled by this agency. By far we have helped reduce our carbon footprint since 1970 to this day. EPA has done a good job in my opinion in enforcing the law established and fining companies. Even though the damage is done all they can do is go after compensatory damages as they cant replace someone health or make animals or land come back to life. They biggest two violations that come to mind have been in the united states in the past 26 years that I am aware of were the Exxon Valdez spill in March 1989 and BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April of 2010 resulting in Exxon paying 4 billion dollars in compensatory damages and BP paying 18.7 billion dollars in compensatory damages. Since pollution knows no boundaries these effects can have effects on other nations beyond our borders. The US only makes up 4.43% of the world population, with China having 18.9% and India having 17.6% of the world population. With the these three countries making up 40% of the population of the world these countries need to come together to establish or set the same standards in when it comes to Environmental Protection. We are the top three countries when it comes to pollution producing countries. The EPA is involved in the United Nations trying to unify the countries to...
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...Gare, Jonashil Rios MT32-B2 Viewpoint M/V Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef This vessel named M/V Rena with a 236 meters long PANAMAX container ship was aground in Astrolabe Reef in New Zealand on October 5, 2012 at 0220H while sailing from NAPIER to TAURANGA. The ship was carrying 1,368 containers, eight of which contained hazardous materials, as well as 1,700 tons of heavy fuel oil and 200 tons of marine diesel. This incident considered as the unfavorable maritime accident in the year of 2012. According to the reports, M/V Rena had left the New Zealand port of Napier at 1020H on October 4 2012 and was the bound for the New Zealand port of Tauranga. The Master calculated the ETA by dividing the distance for the unfavorable currents that normally prevailed down the stretch of coastline. He authorized his personnel which is the second mate to take over the watch shortly at midnight on October 4. The duty officer calculated that MV Rena will arrive at port of Tauranga Pilot Station at 0300H. Tauranga Harbor has a small size of depth water and it has strength in tidal water and after that second mate decided to adjust the course of the pilot station. He also decided to reduce the two miles to 1 mile for them to save time. The second officer makes some adjustments, he altered course at 5 degrees past the required track but he didn’t make an excessed or allowance for any compass error or sideways “drift, and result was being ground the ship directly to Astrolabe Reef. Later on the...
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...develop apps that will run on other hardware Microsoft is currently faced with the issue of taking a beating in terms of the app market. Creating apps that run on iOS will allow Apple users to see the Microsoft products that are available and hopefully create additional revenue such that they can fund and create new opportunities in their own potential app store for Windows based phones. This is basically the last significant chance Microsoft has in order to salvage the potential for the mobile OS and app market. The opportunity is a single as it hopefully prevents the downfall of their mobile market altogether. There is a risk that it won't sway consumers but that isn't an option at this point. Exxon Even though Exxon has made a commitment to the environment after the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound in Alaska they have somewhat abandoned many of their public advertising campaigns in terms of their eco friendliness. Part of the reason is that many people now associated the “big” oil disaster with BP and...
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...develop apps that will run on other hardware Microsoft is currently faced with the issue of taking a beating in terms of the app market. Creating apps that run on iOS will allow Apple users to see the Microsoft products that are available and hopefully create additional revenue such that they can fund and create new opportunities in their own potential app store for Windows based phones. This is basically the last significant chance Microsoft has in order to salvage the potential for the mobile OS and app market. The opportunity is a single as it hopefully prevents the downfall of their mobile market altogether. There is a risk that it won't sway consumers but that isn't an option at this point. Exxon Even though Exxon has made a commitment to the environment after the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound in Alaska they have somewhat abandoned many of...
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...British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon Felicia Kuse Abstract The following paper will describe recent events that occurred with a British Petroleum owned offshore oilrig known as “Deepwater Horizon”. In addition the paper will also discuss various safety issues, concerns, and repeated violations that have occurred resulting in an environmental disaster that impacts the Gulf of Mexico of which the long term effects will not be known for generations to come. British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon On April 10, 2010 the offshore drilling rig, operated by the world’s sixth largest oil producer British Petroleum, erupted in flames. The result of this disaster caused “170 million gallons of crude oil to spill into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico” ("NRDC.org", 2011, p. 4), killing 11 people, and creating what could be the largest ecological disaster of the 21st century. This disaster is considered by many to be the largest oil spill ever to occur. Clean up efforts are still ongoing after almost two years. British Petroleum (BP) has spent billions of dollars in cleanup cost, restitution and community development; however the greater effects on the environment will not be determined for many years to come. The direct cause of this disaster has been identified as mechanical failure of a blowout preventer located at the base of the well directly above the site entry on the bottom of the sea floor. When this mechanical valve failed, it cause as large plum of highly flammable gas...
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...BP OIL SPILL Under the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore drilling ring of British Petroleum (BP) caused an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The incident occurred on April 20th 2010, where equipment failed and caused the explosion sinking the ring, and causing the death of 11 workers and more than 17 workers injured. The British based energy company also faced other problems at the site of the oil spill. More than 40 million gallons (estimated data) of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a very serious threat for the wildlife as it causes water pollution. The oil spill effected many coastal areas in the US, like the Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The oil spill disaster strongly damaged wildlife cycle in the Gulf of Mexico, and many species were thrown into extinction. Similarly, thousands of businesses were thrown into extinction. Many people has questioned the ethical decisions and core value system that BP used to cut corners with the accident; namely, the race to maximize profits at all costs. We are all aware that one of the main causes that let to the disaster were the result of bad decisions, in which a less expensive option (whether to run a test or use a particular kind casing pipe, for example) would save lives. There has been “zero dollars spent on research concerning how to handle oil spills for off-shore drilling by BP despite the company's NET profits - above and beyond all salaries, bonuses, or overhead costs- of...
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...I. Background Information JHONSON AND JHONSON: TYLENOL The image and reputation of a company is so important in order to gain the trust of the consumers. Crisis need not strike a company purely as a result of its own negligence or misadventure. Often, a situation is created which cannot be blamed on the company - but the company finds out pretty quickly that it takes a huge amount of blame if it fumbles the ball in its response. On September 30, 1892, Jhonson and Jhonson announced that three persons had died as a result of taking Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide. Within the next two days, four additional deaths from the same cause were reported. All seven deaths occurred in the Chicago Area, but J & J recalled thirty-one million bottles of Tylenol from store shelves throughout the nation. The publicity surrounding this was unprecedented in American business history; in the print media alone, more than 125,000 stories appeared. Many business analysts said that no product could survive this, and they pronounced Tylenol dead as a product line. From the outset of crisis, J & J recognized the immediate and long-term stakes involved. Its strategy was based on maintaining high visibility and avoiding any appearance that the corporation was trying to duck responsibility. The incident involved four specific “publics” – the management at Johnson & Johnson, its employees, the consumers and the stores which were selling Tylenol. By communicating with...
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...drill wells offshore and his first well went about three hundred feet into the Pacific. As expected, the extraction was abundant and extremely productive. During this time, the combustion engine was also being created which increased America’s demands for gasoline. The first well drilled from a fixed platform offshore was not created until 1947 by the Kerr-McGee Corporation and also marked the beginning of the modern offshore drilling industry. As a result, oil production was known as the second largest revenue generator for the United States. Creating offshore oil platforms entails more than three billion dollars. For some companies this could be a great investment, as for others it could signify a great loss. On March 23, 1989, Exxon Valdez had its first most tragic oil spill in U.S. history. Irresponsibility and carelessness led to the spilling of approximately 10.8 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound affecting fisheries, the livelihood of citizens in Alaska, wildlife, and those who found Prince William Sound a sacred and pure place was now degraded. On April 20, 2010, British Petroleum (BP) reported a leakage of five thousand barrels of crude oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico. It was caused by methane gas from the drill rushing out, igniting and then exploding causing eleven workers’ lives and the damage of a well. The rupture of the well has caused non-stop leakage of oil into the Gulf for approximately fifty-six days. The United States and various other...
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...Si Peng Professor Sellmer English 123 6 Aug. 2010 Offshore Drilling: A Bad Idea Crude oil is one of the three kinds of fossil fuel (coal, crude oil, and natural gas) that are widely used by humanity. It plays a very important role in our world, as it is one of our primary energy sources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States is the biggest oil consumption country in the world, which consumes 19.5 million barrels of oil per day (EIA, “Country Energy Profiles: Oil Consumption”). Crude oil can not only be found on the continent, but also in the ocean. The activity that people discover and extract oil from the ocean is called offshore drilling. Offshore drilling has a long history in the United States. The first offshore well was drilled in 1896, in California (“History of Offshore Oil” 163). Oil soon became the primary energy source of the United States by 1910, as the internal combustion engine, which requires gasoline to power, was invented (“History of Offshore Oil” 163). In the next few decades, offshore drilling industry in the U.S. was going up quickly (“History of Offshore Oil” 163-64). Along with the development of the industry, the government regulation came up. To pursue offshore drilling in the U.S. OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) lands, oil companies need to acquire the lease from the U.S. federal government (“History of Offshore Oil” 164). The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) passed in 1953 ensured federal government’s...
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...The BP oil spill and its impact will be felt in the Gulf of Mexico region for years, if not decades. In the months after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana in April 2010, it's estimated that almost five million barrels of oil gushed from the seabed and into the Gulf, making it the worst oil spill in history. Now that the flow of oil has stopped, the scope of the catastrophe is coming into focus, and attention is turning to how things will play out in the court system. This article looks at some of the legal issues raised by the BP oil spill, including legal options for businesses and individuals looking to get back on their financial feet after the oil spill. (For in-depth information on filing a claim with BP's $20 billion compensation fund, see Nolo's article BP Oil Spill: Filing a Claim With BP's Compensation Fund.) The BP Oil Spill: Types of Lawsuits The BP oil spill has already prompted the filing of thousands of lawsuits. Businesses and workers have seen their livelihoods suffer or even disappear in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. Families and individuals in the Gulf region worry about the health hazards posed by the chemicals used to disperse and clean up the oil. And, with its dubious distinction as the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, the BP oil spill has inflicted immeasurable devastation on the Gulf's coastline, wetlands, wildlife, and ecosystems. Here's a look at the different kinds of lawsuits...
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...The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company 71 1\ sentation and disregard for quality assur ance/quality control as at Alyeska," claimed tfi Glen Plumblee was a quality. control Plumblee. 51 )pspector at Alyeska with 18 years of experi . In responding to Plumblee's allegations, C)~nce. He was hired in 1990 as part of a new William Howitt, Alyeska~s vice-president of t-"get-tough attitude" towards quality control engineering stated that:(quality-control jobs .after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Over a three were restructured to allow inspectors to mon to-four month period, he wrote 200 so-called itor work in real time so that immediate cor- f~ "discrepancy reports" indicating quality con rections could be made; the inspectors were trol problems 'in his area. These compared making less money because they no longer with only 3 or 4: discrepancy reports that worked overtime although their hourly pay were written over the entire prior 13-year had been increased; cathodic monitors were period. Notwithstanding, during his time used once a year; a program was in place to with the company, Alyeska reduced the num inspect internally all tanks by 1995; and, that ,ber of inspectors from 8 to 4 and demoted neither state nor federal law dictated as to Plumblee from the position of senior quality how often vessels must be inspected.~ control inspector tp quality control coordina James Schooley charged Alyeska with tor. He also reported that he was forced by his ignoring his warning that...
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...SOLVING BP’S PROBLEMS REGARDING THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL Presented to Board of Directors Oil and Energy Company, BP Prepared by John Molson School of Business Representative Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting Major March 23, 2011 MEMORANDUM DATE: March 23, 2011 TO: Board of Directors, Oil and Energy Company, BP FROM:, , Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting Major SUBJECT: SOLVING BP’S PROBLEMS REGARDING THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL Here is the report regarding the oil spill catastrophe that resulted from the explosion of Deepwater Horizon, which took place on April 20th 2010. The damages caused by this mishap are assessed and analyzed in this report. This report also includes recommendations made by experts in the specified fields relating to solving the issues brought fourth by this aforementioned spill. Despite the horrific consequences that have affected the global environment, BP’s reputation and BP’s financial assets due to this oil spill, certain efforts must be made on PB’s part in order to maintain a healthy environment for all living organisms on this planet. The information gathered in this report explores the methods at which BP could engage in this restoration process. Different methods that can be used to clean up the oil spill will be investigated in order to derive the best possible solution for BP. I am grateful towards BP’s board of directors for accepting...
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...The Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker, thought to be carrying 200 million litres (53 million gallons) of crude oil, en route to Long Beach, California when it ran aground on the Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska on the 24th March 1989 in turn causing the ship to spill 43 million litres (11 million gallons) of its crude oil into the sea. The oil, originally extracted at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, eventually covered 1,300 miles of coastline and 11,000 square miles of ocean. The captain of the ship, Joseph Hazelwood, was said to be drinking heavily on the night that the ship struck the reef. He gave orders to the pilot, Harry Claar, to take the Exxon Valdez out of the shipping lanes to avoid far reaching ice. After doing this however, Hazelwood handed the controls of the ship to the inexperienced and fatigued Third Mate Gregory Cousins, giving him instructions to turn the ship back into the shipping lanes when the tanker reached a certain point, unbeknown to him that the ship was left in autopilot. At that time, the pilot was replaced by Helmsman Robert Kagan and Captain Hazelwood also returned to his quarters to rest. The Third Mate and the Helmsman were unable to make the manoeuvre to return into the shipping lanes as the ship was still on auto pilot, and therefore the tanker continued until it had hit the reef. During the time of accident, Exxon Valdez was carrying 200 million litres of crude oil, out of which it spilled around 40 million litres into the sea. As a result...
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...Exxon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989 Isaac Mitchell Maine Maritime Academy The Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 occurred in Prince William Sound off the coast of southwestern Alaska. The date when the oil tanker ran aground was March 24th, 1989. It struck Bligh Reef at about 12:04 a.m. There have been various estimates of how much oil spilled into the ocean. A total of 11 million US gallons was a commonly accepted estimate of the spill’s volume, used by the State of Alaska’s Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club ("Questions and answers," 1990). Other groups, such as Defenders of Wildlife, question the official estimates, maintaining that the volume of the spill went underreported (DeVries, Luts, 2004). Alternative calculations, based on an assumption that the seawater rather than oil drained from the damaged tanks, estimate the total to have been 25 to 32 million US gallons (Bluemink, 2010). Because of the spill many practices were going to change in the shipping industry. The Exxon Valdez oil spill drastically changed the United States’ shipping regulations, policies, and documentation. The Exxon Valdez damaged eight of its eleven tanks on board, spilling 11 million gallons of its 53 million gallon cargo of oil. Those 11 million gallons would spread and ultimately impact over 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making the Exxon Valdez oil spill the...
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...Information Exxon Valdez March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on the Bligh Reefs in Prince William Sound, Alaska spilling 10.8 million gallons or 20% of the ship’s cargo. It was the 34th largest oil in the world at the time and the largest in U.S.A. The oil spill killed 500,000 birds over 90 species more than 4000 sea otters, 14 killer whales and destroyed tourism and the fish industry of the area. It was said on reports that the probable reason on why the tanker has gone aground was because of the captain and its crew being drunk. The "Exxon Valdez" entered the language as a shortcut for corporate arrogance and damage because of its lack of action as soon as possible by the owners of the company when the oil spill happened. 2/9 Johnson & Johnson: Tylenol Tylenol an over-the-counter product in the U.S. with over hundred million users was the most successful in selling painkillers. Tylenol was the absolute leader in the painkiller field accounting for a 37 percent market share, outselling the next four leading painkillers combined, including Anacin, Bayer, Bufferin, and Excedrin. Unfortunately in 1982 a total of seven deaths occurred in Chicago resulting to a recall of all Tylenol bottles all over the U.S. which led to a drop in sales of $1.2B but has recovered because of its great strategies by using public relations and media as a tool to once again gain the trust of its consumers. 3/9 II. Situational Analysis Exxon Valdez I’ll...
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