It is predicted that the next trillion barrels of oil will be used up in 30 years, compared to the first trillion barrels took us 125 years to use. The world's resources are running out thanks to ever-increasing demand. It is estimated that the Middles East will have the only guaranteed reserves of oil left in 50 years. Companies are scrambling to extract those remaining and, because these reserves are often the ones which are harder to access, companies like BP are having to use riskier extraction methods like deepwater drilling.
The increasing scarcity of resources does not however absolve corporations of responsibility for the safety of their employees, the environment and the general public. The real tragedy of all these disasters is that ultimately, they are all preventable.
So how are we to go about avoiding these accidents in future, given that as resources inevitably dry up, companies appear to be less avers to risky strategies?
The issue of corporate ethics and social responsibility is a murky one. Despite the millions spent on PR campaigns and the spewing out of slogans brimming with social concern, ultimately the fact is that the purpose of a corporation is to generate profit for itself and for its shareholders, and there's few legal obligations on them to do anything else. That's not to say that corporations are inherently evil, but simply that its unrealistic to expect them to act in any other manner unless forced to do so.
As the world's resources continue to dwindle, competition for them will get fiercer and the temptation for corporations to cut corners will become greater. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with governments to ensure that proper regulation is in place and enforced correctly.
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