In this case Run to Failure is a book about BP and the numerous disasters it has been part of for the past 15 years. The book is written by Abraham Lustgarten published by  W.W. Norton & Co, NY 2012.. In the book Mr. Lustgarten discusses BP and its numerous environmental infrastructions It did not have to be the method BP was doing as evidenced by Exxon. After the tanker Valdez caused damages, Exxon changed its methods and safety, so it has the best performance and expects to stay as the best. BP choose a different path, and comments people did not trust the company; people went to work tried their best and hoped to come home alive at the end of their shifts; even though BP is a multi billion dollar industry – the repairs on the out of date machinery was in keeping with a bootstrap operation; operations such as Health and Safety are not profit centres however BP ensured that all complaints went to them and anyone who complained did not work long. It is not surprising that under those conditions, incidents happened at a higher rate than its competitors.

Linking to dividend paying companies, all utility companies must continually upgrade their equipment, if they do not then the cost of paying for accidents begins to outweigh the costs of doing little or nothing. It is not surprising in this age, even though many companies would love to expand, those that oppose the pipelines can have a very valid point. Culture and regular maintenance are necessary for success and both can easily be disregarded for short term profits. If you see your utility acting like BP did, switch stocks.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions