Posts Tagged ‘borrow money’

Oil Spill 2010 In Gulf Of Mexico: Cost For BP Up To $ 8 Billion

Monday, June 14th, 2010

The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is worsening, and what BP will have to pay for the response is rising with no immediate end in sight. In the meantime, the price of crude futures is rising as fast as BP’s stock is falling. Oil futures were posting gains for the fourth straight session as traders pin their hopes on the possibility that the oil slick will muck up current levels of supply. The company won’t need to borrow money to finance the oil spill cleanup although BP stock has lost $ 20 billion in market value.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is taking an $ 8 billion hit

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is causing BP stock to die as the disaster shows the potential to become larger than the infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The Wall Street Journal reports that BP’s stock price lost 14 percent since the oil rig exploded and sank — about $ 20 billion in market value. The New York Times reports that BP is also destined to take a hit on future earnings if it has to hold off on future exploration and drilling while it deals with the spill, which may cost BP at least $ 8 million.

Gulf of Mexico oil spill costs compared to Exxon Valdez

BP says they are spending $ 6-7 million to stop the spill and limit the damage in the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama has insisted that BP will pay for all the costs, including reimbursing federal and local governments for money spent on the response and cleanup. Exxon paid more than $ 3.8 billion in cleanup and damage costs plus $ 500 million in punitive damages, which is about $ 7.3 billion adjusted for inflation, just 20 years ago.

“BP certainly is more than capable of covering all of the expenses that they’ll be liable for,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst with Raymond James, to The New York Times. BP earned $ 17 billion in net income last year and is projected to earn $ 23 billion in 2010, according to Raymond James.

Disputed is the BP oil spill estimates

For the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP’s meter is running high. It has been reported that it will likely take months to stop a leak BP has estimated is gushing about 200,000 gallons of oil a day into the gulf. SkyTruth which is an organization that promotes environmental awareness with remote sensing and digital mapping technology suggests that the oil spill is really leaking 1 million gallons of oil every day. If that is really true the Gulf of Mexico oil spill 2010 will beat the Exxon Valdez spill by the end of Saturday.

Maneuvers for the BP oil spill legally

BP’s reputation’s damage from the oil spill will be hard to calculate once dead animals start washing up the shore with some oil. BP has done some legal maneuvers recently to help, although they haven’t helped at all. The Mobile Press-Register said that BP was caught circulating different settlement agreements among coastal Alabamians offering residents $ 5,000 to give up their right to sue the company for damages from the oil spill. Alabama Attorney General Troy King told BP they should stop circulating the settlement agreements.

Sources for the article

Wall Street Journal

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-oil-futures-rise-as-gulf-leak-spreads-2010-05-03?reflink=MW_news_stmp

The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/05/03/03greenwire-bps-oil-spill-bill-could-dwarf-exxons-ivaldezi-91298.html

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Earth Hour: Because change is hard

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

The second annual Earth Hour will be observed Saturday, March 27, 2010, at 8:30 p.m. local time. According to the official website for earth hour, as people all around the world turn off their lights during a scheduled hour, a blackout “will once again cascade around the globe, from New Zealand to Hawaii” The Los Angeles Times calls Earth Hour “the world’s largest global climate change initiative.” Earth Hour, says the Times, is a “global call to action . . . a call to stand up and take responsibility.”

Earth Hour is easy for all

In the most basic sense, Earth hour’s call to action is the least we can do. Being a part of Earth Hour doesn’t mean we need to change our lives by actually being responsible for the environment. All we need to do is turn off the lights for an hour.

Shop, donate, borrow money

It will not cost you anything to participate; however, Earth Hour sells gear on their official website to anyone who believes this might help stop climate change. Also, if you think it will help the environment, you may donate on their website money directly to Earth Hour. At the time of this writing, Earth Hour Gear was not yet available, but donations can be made now, so it’s not too early to fill out a personal loan application if you need a loan to do your part for Earth Hour.

Climate Change in a basic form

The Earth Hour website suggests that effects of climate change are shown in all of the US. Alaska has warmed two times as fast as the rest of the United States. Spring snowmelt is earlier, sea ice is reduced, glaciers are retreating and permafrost is thawing. In the Northwest, Water supplies are being strained while erosion is increasing because winters are wetter while summers are dryer. In the Southwest, droughts are becoming more of a concern because water supplies are more scarce.

In the Midwest, lake ice is reduced while downpours are twice as frequent as they were 100 years ago. In the Northeast there is less snow and more rain. In the Southeast there are more hurricanes, higher winds, more storm surges, increased air temperatures, and greater rainfall. On the islands and coastlines, where there are more sensitive impacts of climate change, wetlands are drowning, the man-made environment is threatened, shorelines are eroding, and sea levels are rising.

Taking a real stance doesn’t have to be hard

It makes sense to take a stance about global climate change, but taking responsibility for the problem requires more than an annual hour-long blackout ritual. It also doesn’t mean you have to live in a teepee without electricity of running water.

A person might ride a bike on occasion instead of driving a car, purchase fewer wasteful and unnecessary products, or choose foods that require less fossil fuel energy to produce.There’s nothing to stop people from switching off the lights for Earth Hour while making real changes, too; except, of course, that change is hard and flipping a switch is easy.

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