$6.9 million dollars
That's how much a human life is worth, according to the EPA. It's down about a million from five years ago, and in '96 it was about $8 million. The EPA says they've just refined their accounting, but some folks think it's politically motivated - a lower cost-per-life means that certain environmental regulations won't be worth enforcing anymore. And with Bush's recent proud remark, "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter" (which was allegedly followed by a fist-pump and a grin) I can't imagine why his administration might be seen as valuing politics over the environment and human life.
One commentator noted, "In barrels of oil, the value of a life has plummeted from 312 thousand to 49 thousand barrels! Iraq is estimated to hold around 112 billion barrels of oil, which means that in 2003, at the time of the US invasion, Iraq’s oil reserved were worth about 360 thousand American lives, while they’re now worth about two million."
So there we go.
One commentator noted, "In barrels of oil, the value of a life has plummeted from 312 thousand to 49 thousand barrels! Iraq is estimated to hold around 112 billion barrels of oil, which means that in 2003, at the time of the US invasion, Iraq’s oil reserved were worth about 360 thousand American lives, while they’re now worth about two million."
So there we go.