When the glass spills

It's often said there are two kinds of people in the world - those who see the glass as half empty and those who see the glass as half full.

After the events of the last 50 days or so in the Gulf of Mexico, there might be a new category - those who pay the price when the glass spills.

The disastrous oil spill off the shores of Louisiana has given people in this province something to think about. Many are asking questions about the safety of the drilling activities off our local shores, and rightly so.

Theories and rumors have abounded about what went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon, since the rig exploded in April. As with any large event, there is more fiction than fact in much of what is being said. As with any large event, it will take time to learn what really occurred.

What is for certain is that the effects of the spill - now being called the largest environmental disaster in United States history - are being felt far from the Gulf of Mexico. Some forecasters believe the oil could travel into the Atlantic Ocean and up the Eastern Seaboard this summer.

Newfoundland may also see an impact. One experts says migrating birds that normally travel north in the summer months are getting caught up in the spill, dying before that can make the trek to our shores.

Meanwhile, exploration and production continue off the shores of Newfoundland.

Regulators of the industry here are trying to calm people's concerns. Max Ruelokke, chairman and CEO of the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board, says deep water drilling off the shores of this province is safe. He may be right.

But what if he's not?

Many of Mr. Ruelokke's reassurances centre around an accident like the one in the Gulf of Mexico not being able to happen here because of better policies, procedures, training and equipment.

One would imagine similar assurances were given to Americans who live in areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico when drilling started there.

While it may sound like a 'glass-half-empty' point of view, accidents happen; they call them accidents because they are not planned, forecasted or predicted. All the safety policies, procedures, training and equipment in the world cannot always prevent them.

So then the question becomes are we ready to deal with the aftermath of such an accident? What happens when we spill the contents of the glass?

It's a question better asked and answered now, long before the possibility ever arises.

Natalie Musseau