As reported by Reuters in Washington and the SCMP, opponents of Royal Dutch Shell’s ambitious Arctic oil program have called on the Obama administration to put offshore drilling plans in the region on hold after one of the company’s oil rigs broke away from tow boats in high seas and ran aground off Alaska. The accident involved Shell’s Kulluk oil rig; it is one more evidence oil companies are not prepared to safely manage extreme conditions in the new drilling methods, such as in of the Arctic.
As I demonstrate in my book Toxic Capitalism, our society is brainwashed to consume and consume. Unfortunately, to manufacture all those (often useless) consumer goods, we pollute our planet and need more and more energy resources. We can only slowdown this vicious circle by consuming less – and consuming wiser through quality and durability.
We cannot stop going into new technologies and into new areas of exploration. However, it should require careful analysis and without cutting corners. Oil and gas companies show through the approach in fracking and drilling that they cut corners so the gas and oil remain cheap. This is a terrible risk and once again it means shifting the problems to future generations. Remember Deepwater Horizon?