An appeals court cut in half the $5 billion (U.S.) in punitive damages that Exxon was ordered to pay after its Valdez tanker spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil off the Alaska coast 1989 (yes, it's been in court all this time). The judges ruled it was "unconstitutionally excessive." Tell that to the 34,000 fishermen whose livelihoods were destroyed -- not to mention the hideous environmental damage that drunken captain caused.
But here's the kicker: Exxon Mobil reported earnings of $10.49 billion (U.S.) in the third quarter of 2006. That's the second-largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded company in the U.S. I had to check this on Exxon's own website because I just couldn't believe any company could pull down $10.5 billion in just three months. But alas, it's not a typo.
Read the Globe's story here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
And there was such a fury over Ignatieff raising the spectre of a carbon tax. With oil companies pulling in profits like this, all subsidies should stop and they should be taxed to supplement the creation of clean energy and public transport.
That's my two cents. Now I have to get back to my Christmas baking.
Post a Comment