Over the past decade, environmental concern has skyrocketed. From “An Inconvenient Truth” to Vancouver’s obsession with recycling, everyone is jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon. But to profit-driven companies, environmental concern is an insignificant obstacle, disrupting their business’s success.
An oil pipeline is to be built from Edmonton to Kitimat by Enbridge. It is no surprise that the potential for major oil spills has the first nations and environmental groups outraged. In response to the rumour that Enbridge had a record of oil spills on other pipelines, Enbridge declared that they had very few in the past and that this was not a reason to reject their proposal. After more research, the environmentalists discovered that Enbridge actually had a huge oil spill ona pipeline in Michigan just last year. Once again they tried to cover their tracks, arguing that this spill was a minor issue and was quickly taken care of, but the truth of the matter was “the pipeline rupture ‘caused the largest inland oil spill in Midwest history’ ” (EPA).
Companies are faced with the ethical decision between protecting our environment and making money everyday. Consequently, when Enbridge chose their profit above all, they made the immoral choice.
http://www.vancouversun.com/spill+report+demanded/7092400/story.html