Exxon Valdez Essay

1) In 2003 a blackout struck the United States and Canada. It caused over 50 million people to experience a loss of power for several days and cost an estimated 50 billion dollars in of expenses. The blackout occurred because a company called First Energy Corporation [FE] didn’t follow Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions policy’s, which were voluntary but not required by law. First Energy was responsible for over 50 billion dollars in damages and had to pay zero fines. I do not think that FE should have to pay any fines for the blackout but I do think that they should have to pay for the damage claims.

In 1989, Exxon Valdez had a hole punctured in the side of its hull. It spilled about 24 million gallons of oil into the Prince Williams Sound. They were fined over 150 million dollars and settled damage claims. I think they did so rightly. Exxon Valdez did not follow the right regulations and did not reinforce their hulls like they should have. When the spill happened,

The engineer was probably given the two plans and was asked if they worked. He did all the calculations and found that both plans would work. He did learn however that the company’s plan was really not as good as the federal plan. He probably brought it to the CEO and told him the problem. The CEO then choose the company’s plan because the problem wasn’t major. The engineer just let it be because the company was going to make more money and then, in turn, it would probably make him more money. This was unethical for the engineer to do. The first rule in the Fundamental Canons in the ABET Code of Ethics is to uphold public welfare and safety over their professional duties. The engineer should have made the CEO pick the other plan because of the potential failure. If the CEO would not listen to the engineer, the engineer should have gone to the government and told them that there was such a potential for failure in the