After the BP spill started in the Gulf, it was easy to quickly determine how bad it was in the context of American history but not as easy to place it on a scale that measured environmental disasters around the world. A couple of weeks ago executives were just convicted in India in the Bhopal gas accident in 1984. Today, a story in the New York Times shows that Nigeria experiences an Exxon Valdez every year, and has for the past 50.

In that instance, it’s not one companies actions that will result in a legal battle to ultimately hold someone accountable for cleanup and damages. It’s several countries operating within a lax legal and regulatory climate, and the populace lacks the power to hold them accountable. (The story says soldiers beat up women who were protesting last month.)

Again, it’s little solace, but it’s something.

— Monica Potts

Monica Potts is a former senior writer at The American Prospect. She is working on a book about low-income women in her rural Arkansas hometown. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, New York, Vogue.com, The Daily Beast, The Trace, and Democracy.