The whole world watches in shock the events with the drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
Our prayers go out to the families who have lost loved ones in the tragedy. And our prayers go out to all who will be impacted by the damage along the coastlines of our southern US and the Gulf of Mexico. It will take years to assess the damage and lifetimes to deal with the pain of loss of loved ones.
Taken shortly after the rig caught fire – the mast is still there
The absolute priority of the moment is to stop the flow of oil. We need to engage the brightest minds in industry and in the Federal Government cure the problem. For some reason, the automatic feature set to close the Blow Out Preventer (BOP) failed to activate. If this feature had worked, there would have been a tragedy but no environmental damage.
We should give everyone working on the problem our full support. After the problem is cured, there will be plenty of time to assess the causes of the failure and assign responsibility.
Day 2, morning – settling quite low in the water now – fuel and oil slick forming
The natural tendency in these circumstances is to point fingers and use the tragedy to implement far reaching policies. There will be the obvious calls to shut down all offshore drilling. This is an unfortunate and catastrophic event but it does not lessen our need for oil. If we cease production of our offshore oil, the impact on our economy will be huge. With 10% unemployment and unprecedented reliance on foreign oil, it is not a time to develop policies which will harm our economy and job production.
In the unfortunate circumstances of airline crashes, we do not stop flying. We work to improve pilot training, improve aircraft and air traffic control procedures. When earthquakes destroyed major portions of San Francisco, we did not evacuate the city and choose not to live there. We rebuilt with ever safer designs. Oil is more necessary to our national economy than the airlines.
For decades, airplanes used electrical switches that needed electrical power to open. For years, when airplanes experienced a fairly minor electrical failure, a major problem developed when fuel valves closed without the power supply to keep them open. Finally, someone suggested that fuel valves should be designed to fail to the open position. Now, when electrical failures occur, the airplane still has fuel flowing to the engines to all them to have the power to land. Such is the value of experience and design increases. Such will be the case in this situation. We will move forward with new resolve, new technology and new safety features.
After the situation is stabilized and the well is under control, when the environmental threats are contained and the clean up process is initiated, we should immediately begin the search for improvements in the industry. Our goal should be zero fatalities, zero injuries and zero incidents.
Every incident is one too many but every incident provides a powerful incentive to improve training, operational procedures, regulations, industry standards and improved technology.
The environmental damage will affect many lives. Jobs will be lost in industries along the coast. People who live on the coast or vacation at the coast will see the heartbreak first hand. We should remember the cost.
Finally, let us all remember the loss of dedicated men and women in all endeavors who live and work in dangerous conditions year in and year out who make it possible for the rest of us to live in a modern world and with modern energy sources. Mankind is the beneficiary of such lives. We should at this time remember the sacrifice.
