UK Judge Finds BHP Liable, World Forgets Other Disasters
Yes, a judge found BHP partially responsible for the Samarco dam disaster that killed 19 and inundated villages with toxic sludge. Eight years on (the Al Jazeera piece is post-dated, but the event was 2015), the wheels of justice turn so slowly for environmental crimes committed by multinational corporations. One might wonder if this prolonged legal battle is merely a feature, not a bug, allowing
these same entities to continue their global operations with minimal scrutiny, while they lobby aggressively against stricter environmental regulations both in Brazil and abroad. While BHP faces a reckoning in a UK court—itself a telling detail about where true accountability often lies for global corporations—the sheer scale of environmental degradation driven by resource extraction rarely gains
such spotlight. How many other communities worldwide remain poisoned, their landscapes scarred, without a single headline or a pending lawsuit in a distant court? This 'victory' is a ripple in an ocean of corporate-sanctioned destruction, reminding us that for big profit, some deaths and widespread ecological ruin are just another line item.