Do you have all the tools you need?
I am sure that I am no different from many who are thinking about the terrible mess we have going on in the Gulf of Mexico as related to the oil leaking from the well one mile under the surface of the water.
I was listening to a radio show the other day and one of the things the discussion reminded me of and also mentioned was; Just because you can, does that mean you should do a particular thing?
A lesson I learned when I was younger, almost at the expense of my life was this; “What is your exit strategy?”
I often wonder about ability vs. practicality. In other words the fact we are actually able to do a particular thing does not mean it is always wise to do such a thing.
In the case of deep water drilling, yes we have the technical ability to drill and extract the oil or mineral, but do we have all the technical capabilities to recover from a mistake? It appears that as long as things go smoothly with the drilling everything is just fine, however, if something should go wrong we do not have all of the necessary skills to recover.
In my own case when I was younger I became involved in something that seemed fun and certainly doable, but when something went wrong and I wanted out I realized that I had not thought things through to that point and had no exit strategy. Fortunately I was able to extract myself from the situation but it was not a certainty at that time that I would succeed.
I guess that is one of the pitfalls of youth, we often do not think through all of the consequences and what would be required to reverse the damages. In many ways the actions of deep water drilling are in the ‘youth’ stages.
Of course deep water drilling is not the only example where we as a society have proceeded along a path without fully considering the consequences.
Something to think about on a personal level as well. Thinking of all the consequences is not always easy, nor is it comfortable, nor does it often provide the immediate satisfaction of going ahead with an action. But it can be its own reward if it prevents harm to yourself or others, or if it prevents becoming involved in a course of action for which there is no return.
