The impact from last week's oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico cannot be overestimated. There was loss of life as well as untold damage to the environment. The oil spill currently measures 1,800 square miles and it is headed toward the United States coastline. Where this ultimately ends nobody knows for sure. Transocean Ltd. owns the oil rig and BP PLC operates it. One imagines that these two companies are doing their best to stanch the gushing of 42,000 gallons per day.
One would think that the impact on both Transocean and BP would also be tremendous. However, this is not the case. Since the accident, Transocean's stock price has dipped from approximately $92 per share to $88 per share, while BP's share price has fallen from $60 to $58. In other words, barely a blip in either company's market value. The societal and environmental price that we're paying whenever an accident like this occurs is monumental. And, unfortunately, these costs are not reflected in stock prices.
The price of a share of stock simply reflects a company's current performance coupled with predicted performance. If our energy needs in the near and mid-length future were expected to be met by renewable and more environmentally friendly sources, this oil rig explosion would make a much larger impact on these companies' share prices. Sadly, it hasn't really moved the needle.
We are far from weaning ourselves off of oil in any meaningful way.
Jonathan A. Schein is president/CEO of ScheinMedia and Publisher of MetroGreenBusiness.com.
Follow Jonathan A. Schein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaschein
where are the "drill baby drill" people like Palin and Giuliani right now - predicatably silent. But then again ninkompoops like Palin don't care about anything other than self serving lines - and nothing about the impact of their voice on things like wildlife and fisheries.
the amount of additional oil we will "ultimately" retrieve from offshore drilling is just not worth the price of destroying the planet.
one of your commenters wrote "Ultimately BP is not responsible for this spill, but rather the people who consume oil so profligately. And of course we will pay the price for it. BP is just a proxy for our society's demands for this way of life. "
wrong and right - BP is responsible - they maintained and operated the rig - they should pay the ENTIRE cost to fix it and clean the shores (and if it was up to me every BP exec should be forced to clean the birds and wildlife of their oil) -- BP may be a proxy for our way of life, but they are a greedy, self serving proxy that did NOT want tighter restrictions on safety.
there is no doubt in my mind we will make this planet a desolate rock.
PS - this spill will
Incredibly silly hyperbole. Of course it can be overestimated and in fact the article does a damn good job of just that.
And as far as stock prices? Why should an oil spill that as the size of 0.% of the Exxon Valdez have a devastating effect on a company with the world wide resources on the scale British Petroleum. This is a company that generates operating cash flow in excess of $1 billion PER DAY.
And the societal and environmental impact of the oil spill? Of course you are bearing it, for after all YOU are responsible for it by providing a market for this oil that demands such dangerous drilling operations. Sell your car, your MacMansion and buy solar panels and a wind turbine and then let's talk about who is responsible for this oil spill.
"We are far from weaning ourselves off of oil in any meaningful way."
That is the one sensible thing you have said in your article. Ultimately BP is not responsible for this spill, but rather the people who consume oil so profligately. And of course we will pay the price for it. BP is just a proxy for our society's demands for this way of life. When you point a finger at them it is reflected right back to YOU.
Mr. Schein is one of the more insightful, thoughtful bloggers on The Huffington Post and his writing is spot on in this article. And talk about hyperbole... cars, MacMansions, solar panels and a wind turbine? Although your sentiment is understood, you are overgeneralizing the issue greatly. I'm all for solar panels and wind turbines, but not everyone has a MacMansion or a car.