Things like this always strike me as the biggest example of why regulation is critical, and those fighting against is are wrong.
If there was no regulations and no government body in charge of these things, the public in the area would be responsible for fixing these orphan wells or risk contamination and dying off, while the company owning them is likely dissolved and gone.
Also side note, but this
“Instead of having these really long-term plans, the industry should be using periods of high prices to clean up and prepare for downturns. And instead they are still sort of assuming that good times will last forever, and planning to have long, long periods of good oil and gas prices,” said Yewchuk.
Capitalism doesn’t reward shareholders for preparing for a downturn, the system demands profits must go up before any other considerations.
And the companies themselves can’t be trusted to do the right thing, that’s why taxes should help pay for an oversight group to “keep them honest”. And when caught skirting regulation they should be fined accordingly, and increasing fines for repeated offences. And if they still can’t follow the rules shut them down and have them pay for it.
Things like this always strike me as the biggest example of why regulation is critical, and those fighting against is are wrong.
If there was no regulations and no government body in charge of these things, the public in the area would be responsible for fixing these orphan wells or risk contamination and dying off, while the company owning them is likely dissolved and gone.
Also side note, but this
Sums up the mentality of the oilsands pretty well
Capitalism doesn’t reward shareholders for preparing for a downturn, the system demands profits must go up before any other considerations.
And the companies themselves can’t be trusted to do the right thing, that’s why taxes should help pay for an oversight group to “keep them honest”. And when caught skirting regulation they should be fined accordingly, and increasing fines for repeated offences. And if they still can’t follow the rules shut them down and have them pay for it.