Campus Voice
4.62011 I The Blue Banner 1 15
The Blue Banners View
CEOs involved in Gulf spill do not deserve safety bonuses
The white eyes of pelicans against
ruffled, oil-slick feathers barely begin to
tell the story of the 2010 oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico.
The anniversary of what Carol
Browner, White House energy adviser,
called the “worst U.S. environmental
disaster” is approaching.
Transocean owned the Deepwater
Horizon platform that exploded April
20, killing 11 oil workers and starting
an oil spill that was not capped until
five months later. Now they are handing
out safety bonuses to their executives
for their performance last year.
The spill released 5 million barrels, or
206 million gallons, of oil into the gulf.
It was 20 times larger than the Exxon-
Valdese oil spill in 1989.
Even though the spill has slipped
away from public attention, the envi
ronmental damage is unforgettable.
As of this week, 100 whales and
dolphins have washed ashore, and 35
of them were 3-foot-long stillborn or
newborn calves.
Scientists estimate the number of car
casses found is usually only 2 percent
of the total number of marine animals
^ QM I Q*i. Times you could drive a Toyota Prius (48 mpg highway)
■ I O • • around the Earth at the equator using the lost oil
- _ ^ Hummer H3 (18 mpg highway)
o9/VJoo. around the Earth
—, Olympic-size swimming pools that could be filled with the
Jill oil that leaked from Deepwater Horizon
Sources: Unified Incident Command, Energy Information Association and Fueleconomy.gov
dead, which suggests the real count
of dead marine mammals is closer to
5,050.
A reporter kayaking in the Gulf said
he saw a group of 60 dolphins swim
ming through oil-slick waters with oil
coming out of their blowholes.
By November, almost 7,000 dead ani
mals had been collected, mostly birds,
but also sea turtles, dolphins and other
mammals.
The oil also damaged deep sea coral,
threatened eight U.S. National park
and contaminated the shrimp that made
Louisiana cuisine famous.
The spill covered as much as 68,000
square miles of the ocean and affected
320 miles of the coast.
Satellite images still show a shiny
layer of oil on the surface of the ocean.
British petroleum executives may
even face manslaughter charges for the
11 killed in the explosion.
But Transocean hands out bonuses for
their safety.
While Transocean recognized the
“tragic loss of life,” they still awarded
two-thirds of a possible safety bonus to
the senior managers.
They said besides the Deepwater Ho
rizon explosion, the company’s safety
record was “exemplary,” and “the best
year in safety performance in our com
pany’s history.”
We cannot simply leave out one of
the largest oil spills in U.S. history
when we assess the safety of the com
pany partially responsible.
The bonuses devalue the lives of the
workers killed and injured and belittle
their grieving families.
Transocean forgets the 400 species
of animals now threatened by the
spill, simply because they are unlucky
enough to call the Gulf home.
They underestimate the importance
of fishing to the Gulf community. Many
come from generations of fishermen
and rely on tourism to support them
selves and their families.
It’s an insult.
Transocean should have held off on
the bonuses, even just as a PR move.
We’re tired of corporate America thriv
ing while the rest of us feel the bum of
the poor economy.
A USA Today analysis of data from
GovemanceMetrics International
showed that CEO pay rose 27 percent
overall in 2010, while average workers
only increased 2 percent.
liie CEOs made decisions prioritizing
cost instead of safety, and now they’re
getting bonuses. The lowly workers just
keep toiling, unrewarded.
The Blue Banner Editorial Board
Karpen Hall 019 (828) 251-6586 www.thebluebanner.net
Ashleigh Joyner, Editor-in-Chief
amjoyner@unca.edu
Caitlin Byrd, Managing Editor
mcbyrd@unca.edu
Katherine Walker, News Editor
kpwalker@unca.edu
Hali Ledford, Arts & Features Editor
hdledfor@unca.edu
Natalie Pearson, Sports Editor
ngpearso@unca.edu
Megan Dombroski, Campus Voice Editor
mkdombro@unca.edu
Katie Saylors, Photography Editor
ksaylors@unca.edu
Jacob Yancey, Business Manager
jayancey@unca.edu
Jordan Paris, Design & Web Editor
aparis@unca.edu
Alex Hammond, Copy Desk Chief
rahammon@unca.edu
Trevor Metcalfe, Ass/sfanf News Editor
temetcal@unca.edu
Auburn Petty, Assistant Arts & Features Editor
alpetty@unca.edu
Dustin Stuart, Assistant Photography Editor
destuart@unca.edu
Alicia Adcox, Assistant Campus Voice Editor
aradcox @ unca .edu
Michael Gouge, Faculty Adviser
mgouge@unca.edu
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send to amjoyner@unca.edu
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