PHI 445
British Petroleum
PHI 445: Personal and Organizational Ethics
British
Petroleum
The 2010 British Petroleum (BP) oil spill took place 41 miles offshore in The Gulf of
Mexico. This environmental disaster was contributed by greed, failure to enforce regulations,
and failure to train the crews of the Deep-Water Horizon. The total damages to the
environment, nearby communities, and the coastal economy are over $36 billion. Human and
equipment failures fueled by failures to enforce regulations caused BP's Deep-Water Horizon
to spill oil.
The United States' economy operates under a hybrid system, but capitalism contributed to
BP's oil spill, leading to the biggest environmental disaster in recent years. Capitalism
contributed to and fostered the conditions that led to the worst environmental disaster.
Capitalism is defined as "personal self-interest, not community interest, motivates business
activity" (Fieser, 2015). Motivated by greed and profits, BP's leadership leveraged the loosely
regulated policy and was cited for multiple drilling regulation violations after the investigation
into the spill. The Justice Department's investigation stated BP failed to protect the health, the
safety of the crews, and the environment by failing to perform their drilling operations within
the established guidelines. But the Justice Department also cited "systemic problems with the
offshore program that has nothing to do with BP" (Murzulla, 2013). To safely conduct
offshore exploration for oil and gas, strict regulations are needed to reduce self-inflicted
capitalism. BP did not take the preventive measures to prevent unauthorized discharge of
British Petroleum
PHI 445: Personal and Organizational Ethics
British
Petroleum
The 2010 British Petroleum (BP) oil spill took place 41 miles offshore in The Gulf of
Mexico. This environmental disaster was contributed by greed, failure to enforce regulations,
and failure to train the crews of the Deep-Water Horizon. The total damages to the
environment, nearby communities, and the coastal economy are over $36 billion. Human and
equipment failures fueled by failures to enforce regulations caused BP's Deep-Water Horizon
to spill oil.
The United States' economy operates under a hybrid system, but capitalism contributed to
BP's oil spill, leading to the biggest environmental disaster in recent years. Capitalism
contributed to and fostered the conditions that led to the worst environmental disaster.
Capitalism is defined as "personal self-interest, not community interest, motivates business
activity" (Fieser, 2015). Motivated by greed and profits, BP's leadership leveraged the loosely
regulated policy and was cited for multiple drilling regulation violations after the investigation
into the spill. The Justice Department's investigation stated BP failed to protect the health, the
safety of the crews, and the environment by failing to perform their drilling operations within
the established guidelines. But the Justice Department also cited "systemic problems with the
offshore program that has nothing to do with BP" (Murzulla, 2013). To safely conduct
offshore exploration for oil and gas, strict regulations are needed to reduce self-inflicted
capitalism. BP did not take the preventive measures to prevent unauthorized discharge of
