BP's $4.5 Billion Payout for Oil Spill

Speaking of the risks as well as the benefits of oil production, the worst offshore spill in US history is back in the news. Early this afternoon in New Orleans, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that "BP has agreed to plead guilty to all 14 criminal charges, including responsibility for the deaths of 11 people and the events that led to an unprecedented environmental catastrophe. The company has also agreed to pay $4 billion in fines and in penalties." Loren Steffy is a business columnist for the Houston Chronicle and author of Drowning in Oil: BP and the Reckless Pursuit of Profit.