“BP got off cheap. The settlement is not enough to cover BP’s legal obligations, to restore the Gulf, or to stop any other oil company from engaging in this type of grossly negligent behavior. This is particularly dangerous as Shell edges ever closer to the Chukchi Sea to drill in the Arctic. The day after the settlement was announced, BP’s stock price rose and market commentators ‘cheered.’ Rumors of an ExxonMobil merger are also growing. On the other hand, it is also a truly sizable amount of money and a lot more than many of those impacted by this disaster thought they’d ever see. So, many local environmental groups and state and local governments are understandably thankful for the restoration money they will be receiving.”