BP mess a wake-up call

Calamities are often called “acts of God.” The current BP fiasco might be an “act of greed”! The cut-off devices on the Deepwater Horizon didn’t work. It didn’t have an acoustic shut-off device, which could be activated remotely even after it collapsed. They are too expensive for the U.S., but not for Norway or Brazil.

Deep-sea drilling has been compared to a moon shot. NASA placed a premium on safety by having redundant systems. If one failed, backup systems would be employed. NASA had some disasters like Challenger, which occurred when we tried to make the shuttle commercial. We have expanded drilling to the vast depths of the ocean and the far reaches of the continent with cursory regard for the environmental consequences of accidents like this.

These are experiments with no real backup or cleanup plans. The writing has been on our wall since the Arab oil embargoes, yet we can’t seem to read.

Our competitors have moved forward to develop renewable energy technologies. Saudi Arabia aims to be the leader in solar power, and we buy wind turbines from China! This is a wake-up call that intelligent people should heed.

David T. Webb

Spokane