Test - expensive

The Cost of Sea Level Rises: Two Trillion Per Year

Rising sea levels are not only imperiling people, the cost to property and infrastructure amounts to trillions of dollars a year. However, if governments act now they can significantly reduce the costs associated with sea level rises. Failure to act soon will cause the costs to increase exponentially.

According to a study from the Stockholm Environment Institute called “Valuing the Oceans”, if the rise of greenhouse gases continues to go unchecked, it will result in lasting damage that will cost $2 trillion each year.

A warmer planet will also continue to cause ocean acidification and diminished levels of oxygen in the seas. These events will destroy coral reefs and decimate fish stocks which will impact people and economies around the world.

As reviewed in a PhysOrg article, in addition to material costs there is also a dramatic human cost, as low-lying areas particularly those around the the coastlines of Africa and Asia are at risk of inundation. The report states that if temperatures continue to rise with a projected increase of four degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, the cost in 2050 will be $428 billion annually, or 0.25 percent of global domestic product (GDP). By 2100, the cost would rise to $1,979 billion, or 0.37 percent of output.

If global governments choose to act now and warming is limited to 2.2 C (4 F), the cost in 2050 would be $105 billion, or 0.06 percent of worldwide GDP, rising to $612 billion, or 0.11 percent, by 2100.

“This is not a scaremongering forecast,” says the report. ”The ocean has always been thought of as the epitome of unconquerable, inexhaustible vastness and variety, but this ‘plenty more fish in the sea’ image may be its worst enemy.”

The actual impact of rising sea levels may prove to be even worse than suggested in this study. The report did not consider the costs to small island states which are subject to the most acute risks, nor did it factor the extraordinary disruption of the world's food chain.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Articles
Scientists Warn we Must Act to Diminish Rising Sea Levels
America at Risk from Rising Sea Levels
Sea Levels are Rising 60 Percent Faster than Anticipated
Urgent Appeal to Save our Oceans
Marshall Islands World Ocean Day 2012
State of the Climate Global Analysis Nov 2011
Seven Ways to Save the Seas
OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050: The Consequences of Inaction
Population Growth and Climate Change will Add to the World Water Crisis
Water Management Webcast: Cities and the Global Water Crisis

The Costs of Oil: BP Liable for up to 90 Billion

BP has been ordered to pay an unprecedented 4.5 billion in fines as the costs of their 2010 oil fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico continue to mount. On Thursday November 15, 2012, BP pleaded guilty to 14 felony counts related to the explosion and subsequent oil spill at the site of its Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The plea agreement with federal prosecutors includes charges of manslaughter for the 11 workers who were killed and one felony count for obstruction of justice for false statements made to Congress about the amount of oil leaking from the out-of-control well.

The breakdown of the 4.5 billion in fines is as follows:

$2.4 billion for is to be paid to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for environmental restoration, preservation, and conservation efforts throughout the affected area
$1.3 billion in criminal fines, which the company would pay out in installments over five years
$350 million is to be paid to the National Academy of Sciences over five years
$525 million civil penalty satisfies a Securities and Exchange Commission charge that BP had obstructed Congress by lying to Congress about the amount of oil flowing from the well

BP's cleanup efforts have already cost the company nearly $18 billion which are part of $42 billion in pre-tax accounting charges the company has taken. Here is a partial breakdown:

4.5 billion announced on November 15 (the largest corporate criminal penalty in U.S. history)
$15 billion that BP has paid so far into a $20 billion trust fund to compensate victims of the spill
$7.8 billion settlement for private injury claims from roughly 100,000 fishermen and other business owners in the Gulf region that were affected by the spill

Other civil claims are still pending and they could amount to tens of billions in additional penalties. Potential civil claims under the Clean Water Act allows for fines ranging from $1,100 to $4,300 per barrel (and even higher end if gross negligence is determined) which could amount to additional fines of $20 billion.

These are not the only fines that could be levied, there could also be federal and state sanctions under the Natural Resource Damages Act, and assorted private civil claims, securities claims, or state economic loss claims.

Estimates for the total amount of penalties that BP will ultimately have to pay reach as high as $90 billion. Claims may also be filed against BP's corporate partners including the rig owner Transocean and the well services company Halliburton.

In addition to the fines levied against BP, individuals are also being held accountable. three former BP employees are facing felony charges of manslaughter and obstruction of justice. Two of the three men could face up to 10 years in prison for each of the 11 deaths that resulted form the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
BP's Corporate Irresponsibility
Responsibility for the Costs of the Gulf Oil Spill
The Costs of Offshore Drilling
Managing the Massive Gulf Oil Spill
Offshore Oil is an Avoidable Tragedy
Two More Reasons to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels
The End of Oil and the Next Energy Economy