This is exactly what the OP referring to when he referenced negative externalities. This problem only exists because the oil company took a risk in order to make profits. The potential risk (the negative externally) materialized. If society eats up the cost, we encourage business practices that might be a net-negative for society as a whole. If the oil company has to pay for the cleanup, the market forces can determine if drilling the way they did, where they did is economical.

If a hurricane causes an oil platform to release oil, the platform was by definition not sufficiently prepared. The bar for "sufficiently prepared" might be prohibitively high, but that should just be the cost of business.

>The bar for "sufficiently prepared" might be prohibitively high, but that should just be the cost of business.

I don't agree, and neither does centuries of established moral legal arguments adopted by developed nations.

And I'm saying I think you (and those nations' standards) are wrong. We're letting companies profit off of the environment without being responsible for cleaning up after themselves when shit goes sideways.

All designs break at some point. There is no such thing as hurricane proof. In this case the sub-surface safety valves designed to prevent oil spillage, failed. To take another industry, there are design risks when it comes to seatbelts, brakes, crumple zones, tires, fuel lines, etc, etc. Better designs for each of these safety features already exist. You can't simply wave a magic wand and ban cars with older designs. We have been making progress on all fronts when it comes to safety. I have family who has worked on oil rigs, and what we have now is a hell of a lot better than the rickety explosion-prone rigs from 60-odd years ago.

>We're letting companies profit off of the environment without being responsible for cleaning up after themselves when shit goes sideways.

That is just a hyperbole and is not grounded in reality. Ironically, in this case, the company lost the oil, lost the 'money', wasn't able to profit, and went out of business. Looks like you got what you wanted. :)

>They didn't cause the hurricane. Your moral principle is invalid here.

They caused the hole in the oil bed that the oil is gushing out of.

If the street is wet and I lose control over my car and run you down with it because of that, who is going to pay for your hospital fees?

"I work out and stay healthy."

You are aware that this is not a 100% plan for staying healthy ?

Unfortunately, a fire in one person’s yard is not likely to stay just in their yard. Even if you feel like the people who are responsible should burn to death if they don’t have their own private fire service, unfortunately, their neighbors and possibly the entire community are likely to suffer if the fire is not extinguished immediately.

So in this example it’s your fault you were walking down the street and because you work out being hit by a car won’t hurt you?

Fault is a loaded word, and is inapplicable in this context. The burden of the cost is borne by the party that society that chooses using whatever framework exists. Maybe it was "mob justice" a thousand years ago. Today, maybe its in the form of a lawsuit. Maybe its a social safety net that pays for your medical expenses.

Continuing to allow businesses to take out loans against the environment is a net negative for society as a whole if those loans are never expected to be repaid.

There are few industries that break down binary "free market or bust" logic. This happens to be one of them and you cannot apply some global, arbitrarily defined, rule of responsibility when the real world is more nuanced than that.

They decided to take on the risk of possibly having their rig knocked over by drilling in a dangerous place because the potential reward while it was pumping was large enough according to their calculations (do note their calculations may or may not have cynically included wondering if there are enough people who are thinking like you are) and lost that bet.

Vegas never seems concerned I thought the other team was going to win.