Is the Gulf of Mexico worth 20 billion dollars?

[rug]

[Xipe Totec]

1. At least nt

[likesmountains 52]

2. That's not for the clean up..

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rug]

4. I didn't sell it.

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

9. ... as the others said, just wait the price will go down...

after all, it's damaged right?

And fuck them! ;)

(kind of funny FUCK YOU being beside Santa... but even he's getting pissed! LOL)

[indepat]

5. Exponentially more: might well be essential for man's existence on this earth with all the

implications of the flow of oceans (Gulf stream) and its effect on climate et al. :P

[timo]

6. hell no

20 billion wont even come close to what the real figure will be, the "gulf" is a big area, and the claims will eat that 20billion up in a small amount of time leaving bp to say well we did our part!!

20 billion is a total sell out number!!

[piratefish08]

16. yup. exxon valdez settled for 10 cents on the dollar.

[Octafish]

7. Don't worry. By the time Scalia and Roberts are done with the case, it'll be down to $20 million.

They tend to side with the Big Money.

[burrowowl]

13. I'm afraid you might be right.

;(

[Child_Of_Isis]

8. It was a corporate takeover.

They got it pretty cheap.

[Laelth]

10. It's worth way, way more than that. No question.

And I'm just talking in terms of money: real estate, mineral rights, tourism, and fishing. It's a massive economic engine, not even taking into account the intangibles (precious wildlife and wildlife habitat).

Why do you ask?

:dem:

-Laelth

[rug]

12. Putting a 20 billion dollar pricetag on it is rather odd.

How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.

If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.

The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man.

We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man --- all belong to the same family.

- Chief Seattle


To reduce this calamity to a BP escrow account and call it justice is a disgrace.

[Laelth]

19. I agree. $20 billion is not justice.

It is a backstop against a BP bankruptcy. That's all it is. If BP goes bankrupt, we the people will have access to at least $20 billion to pay out civil liability claims. If BP does not go bankrupt, then all its assets are available to pay out civil liability claims, and the $20 billion figure is meaningless.

Most importantly, though, I agree with the sentiment that money will not fix this. Nothing can. Heads need to roll and people need to go to jail to serve as a deterrent to others who might cut corners and ruin our environment for profit.

:dem:

-Laelth

[ixion]

11. It is priceless.

In every sense of the word.

[stray cat]

14. Do people have the right to have lawsuits against those who destroy them and their livelihood?

in every other situation they do -

[LeftyFingerPop]

15. They got away easy...

Next we will be hearing about the "questioning" of the "independent party" of whether the claims are "legitimate".

[amborin]

17. $330 billion

but i can't find the article now

[Scuba]

18. Only when...

Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. |


~Cree Indian Proverb

[Vinca]

20. No amount of money can repair the horror taking place in the gulf.

[xchrom]

21. It's going to be interesting to watch

Damage estimates roll in.

Things like fisheries or some tourism will be
gone for the fore seeable future.
Take a fishery that's been around for a very
long time - wasn't expecting to go out of business -- what
will they collect?