The Effecient Should Not Be Punished By the Recalcitrant Few

It is tragic to see the marshes and wildlife damage along the Gulf Coast. I have seen that poor oil drenched pelican on TV about 100 times now. The same brown pelican species that was endangered several decades ago due to damage DDT caused on their eggs. This specie recovered nicely and can be seen soaring along the coast most every morning and evening along Bolivar Peninsula. They will survive again. The marshes will eventually recovery and in the time the fishing industry will be putting shrimp and oysters on plates in Baltimore and Kansas City.

But, how about BP? A company that has a track record of not being very good stewards of the environment and the community in which it operates. Two major incidents occurred in the last decade at a Texas City Refinery that caused multiple fatalities. Investigations revealed Process Safety Violations. These only occur when costs or production delays occur. From the early comments I am hearing about the explosion and subsequent leak in the Gulf, BP again short cut safety in order to speed up the process of delivering oil. Off shore drilling requires a drilling rig at a cost of about half million a day to locate the oil and then it is removed to move in a production platform that pumps the oil and delivers to the transportation system. It is my understanding that BP short cut the prep process for this transition in order to save a couple of days and dollars.

Now, every responsible company that operates in the Gulf will be punished by halting or eliminating off shore drilling. One rig has already been moved to the North Shore. So what, you say? Jobs! Jobs lost along the entire Gulf Coast. More oil purchases from Venezuela.

The government has put in place a lot of safety and environmental regulations, enforce them and get rid of the BP's and let the responsible producers operate.

A good leader will work to remove the obstacles that hinder the organization from accomplishing the objectives. Not meddle in the details. Our government has no clue of what is required to solve the bigger problem of Energy independence.

The efficient should not be punished by the recalcitrant few