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The terrible oil spill off the Gulf coast caused by faulty equipment used by BP had many ramifications. One of the worst oil spills in recent history, the toll of life, both human and animal a like, was devastating. The apparent negligence has caused many of us to close our garage doors each day and drive past BP oil stations, in favor of a different, more appealing choice. Natural landscapes were marred – perhaps forever. The loss of flora and fauna is immeasurable. Many people even had to leave their homes, and some even found themselves out of jobs.

As this crisis continued to unfold, it became more and more apparent that it could have, in fact, have been prevented. In the months that have passed, a number of lawsuits have been brought against BP for a variety of different grievances. It seems that now BP will have to pay, literally, for their negligence. Investigations into BP prompted by this accident found that this horrible tragedy could have been avoided, a number of times over, with normal, best practice behaviors; meaning that the loss of life, natural habitats, and livelihoods were completely preventable.

A lawsuit against ExxonMobil was, in the end, successfully mitigated for the most part, however it caused such a great deal of negative publicity that it appears that BP wishes to avoid this public relations nightmare. It appears that BP wants to settle their lawsuits for a hefty sum of upwards of $30 billion dollars to keep itself from being mired in court for countless decades to come. Much of the settlement money will go to the fishermen who’s livelihood was dashed when the spill occurred, as well as to the families who’s homes and property were destroyed in this devastating event.

Though it does nothing to change or remove the damage caused by negligence and avoidable mistakes, it is a small victory on the part of those who’s lives were inadvertently turned upside down by virtue of where they live. Companies live and die by that proverbial bottom line and this lawsuit hits BP “right where it counts”, in the bottom line. Even for a company such as BP, $30 billion dollars is quite a hunk of change. This will hopefully send a message to other oil companies that if any problems arise from the use of their processes, they will be held liable.

Chris Keenan is a green and general blog writer. He writes for many sites including Precision Garage Door. Chris also maintains a personal house and garden blog.