Lessons from the Gulf

by Gordon Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, May 27, 2010

For those of you who may be taking score at home in the ongoing battle between the “Brothers Cooper”, you may score this particular column as a tie. I have to agree with several points in my fellow columnist’s essay. For example, I agree with him that the 11 human lives that were tragically cut short by this event have been forgotten as the “not my fault” charade is played out before the cameras.
I also agree with Keith when he said that “corporations cannot be relied upon to put ethics above profitability.” It is further proof of the validity of the scriptural admonition: “… the love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10 KJV)
I will concur again with Keith in the idea that assigning blame, while necessary at some point, is not as important as limiting the destruction to our environment and correcting the policies and procedures that led to this catastrophe.
If I could construct a perfect world, I would design an environment where vital natural resources such as coal and oil could be obtained as easily and as safely as picking cherries from low-lying branches. However, our Creator saw fit to bury those precious commodities beneath our soil and beneath our oceans. Hence, we are left with no choice but to put our fellow humans and our environment at risk to obtain these necessities. Now, before you take up pen and paper or fire up your word processor to tell me that we do indeed have a choice – and that choice is alternative forms of energy – let me say that I am one who believes in the Hippocratic Oath approach toward obtaining and exploiting our natural resources – i.e. “First, Do No Harm.” We can and we must find ways to deliver these products from the depths of the earth to the consumer at the pump with a minimal amount of damage to our landscape, water or air.
We must accept the fact that our economy and our lifestyle are, at this point in our civilization, inseparably linked to the use of fossil fuels. You and I may wish for a day when wind, solar and other renewable sources would be able to be harnessed in a way that would make oil and coal a minor commodity, but that day is not on the horizon just yet.
As we accept this fact, we must also be aware that the law of supply and demand is as undeniable as the law of gravity and as long as we demand a product, someone will make a profit as they assume the risk to supply that need.
In my opinion, if we over-react to this tragedy by initiating new regulations that would serve to stifle new oil field discoveries or burden the domestic oil industry with heavy fines and fees, we would be opening the door for foreign competitors who would be exempt from and indifferent to those same regulations. The end result would be a greater risk to the environment and to the safety of the workers.
I am not defending the careless attitude that led to shoddy work practices, nor am I approving of the “Let’s do whatever it takes to give the shareholders a good return on their investment” mindset that seems to justify cost-cutting at the expense of safety.
I am saying that we need to get our priorities in order. First of all, we should stop the leaking (obviously), secondly we should develop a strategy for removing the oil from the ocean in a responsible way. Thirdly, we should not make long-term, over-reaching reforms without first of all, trying some common sense mid-range tweaks of a system that – for the most part – has been trouble-free.
I know it is within our nature to respond to the stimuli of tragedies with knee-jerks. While that may be advisable in some situations, it is costly in others. The energy industry is a vital cog in the security of our nation and the competitive nature of the global economy is such that we need to make sure our domestic companies are not over-taxed or over regulated to the point where foreigners have the advantage.