10.23.2010

What is a Pelican Worth?

The nightly reports on top shots and bottom kills have ended. The politicians have left. The minds of most Americans have shifted to other things; unemployment, buying groceries, Monday Night Football. However, the heavy lifting in the process to return the Gulf to normal in the wake of this year's oil spill is just beginning. One aspect of the story that has relevance for both the legal and economics interests of Blawgconomics is the evaluation of clean up costs.

In addition to a moral obligation to do so, BP faces a legal obligation to return the Gulf to its previous state. Just what it will cost it to do so will be in part determined by biologists' estimates of the damage caused by the company, followed by no small amount of negotiation and potentially, a few court dates. USA Today had a great piece on this process last week, which you can find here.

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