Independents at Last

It was good to get away from under the mainstream fallout of the storm sent our way courtesy the Wicked Witch. One thing good about Alaska, there still exists plenty of places to hide away. Shelter from the storm! I am talking about Alaska’s latest under siege episode, with the news media chasing a barracuda. Wasilla will always be the same, nothing but a place to buy works from the gorilla in efforts to burn down Big Lake! Not too long ago as I boarded a plane home from down south, I witnessed as Alaska went under siege by the FBI. It was during the Bill Allen follies. Yes indeed, the FBI sent up an entire entourage of agents just to deal with the “Corrupt Bastards Club’s” confiscated records. I understand there was plenty of evidence indicating the members were engaged in gambling away the peoples’ trust! Anyway, there was a lecture out at the University of Hamiliton – a.k.a. U of A – sponsored by the “Complex Systems Group”, or something to that effect. No it wasn’t about a military invasion but to the contrary a lecture on another evasive spices, called cancer. The lecture, by famed author and scientist Dr. Devra Davis, was an insight into her new publication, “The Secret History of the War on Cancer”. Now for those of us in the know, there are not any real secrets surrounding cancer, or its history, as this deliberating disease continues to haunt the masses when there seems to be no known cure or a desire to find a cure. When you cure something, it could be disastrous to an infrastructure! Let’s put this in prospective. The chances of you being a cancer victim, survivor or acquaintance of such is more likely then the possibility of you being acquainted with a fallen soldier from the Iraq war. So why is this country spending so much damn money in Iraq instead of putting it towards that fight to eradicate cancer? That is a question I would like to ask any of the candidates. Sorry, I went off on a tangent as for this writing politics is banned - that shelter from the storm I was enjoying for a time. It is tough to keep politics out of any conversation now that Alaska has been invaded. Anyway, the secret war on cancer is well known. Instead of curing cancer, the efforts are to prolong the dreaded disease so pharmaceutical companies can make big bucks. Pharmaceutical and medical supply companies are run by lobbyists that run D.C., into the underground. So there is easy pickings upon the U.S. Treasury and my pocketbook. The incentive is to do something but not enough, as to do enough may cripple the bottom-line – profits from pills, chemotherapy and unending procedures. Talk about a “Complex System”! And according to Dr. Davis, one needs to hire a coach nowadays, just to understand all the options when cancer is diagnosed. Anyway, this lecture was your typical doom and gloom precautionary sermon. It was informative at the same time just a sample of the “secret war”, as this was also a book selling and signing affair for the author. Now during the question and answer forum following the lecture, some guy went into a rant about just how bad things are today, environmentally and adamant that global warming was a serious problem. It may be, but put aside the doom and gloom, as there is hope on the horizon. So let me tell you the rest of the story. Like the political scene with Obama and Sarah entering the ring, maybe the industrial scene is also heading towards a new age revival. I am talking the Independents. After a long 30-years of listening to “Big Oink Oil” here in Alaska cry “Uncle Ted” every time they were asked to do something, like kicking in their fair share of royalties from “OUR” resources, the Independents have finally snuck - or stuck - their foot in the door of this lucrative oil Mecca. I recently went to work for an Independent up on the North Slope. I had retired away from the oil fields on the “Slope”, as it came to that been there done that sentiment. It seemed to be more of the same, year after year, just like the political scene. But the Independents are bringing new life to an aging oil field that still shows hidden potential. And things are being done a whole lot differently. If environmental responsibility is not a top priority, to lessen this industry’s contribution to the doom and gloom scenario, then I am flabbergasted. For instance, at this one particular site wherein the Independents are exploring to exploit crude oil the high voltage electrical transformers contain “PCB free” insulating oil, a vegetable based oil that has “ZERO” toxicity! And just in-case, the transformers are contained upon a “spill proof” roof. So even if a transformer were to burp, it would be contained. This costs a whole lot of extra money, so one can see a change in attitude in efforts to protect the environment. And whenever temporary hoses are run to purge equipment, the splices in the hoses are equipped with “whip chucks” and diapers, to contain any possible spills. Whenever a purge is required, policies dictate procedures written and walked-down by the individuals involved, then signed off by a company representative. If any liquid - exception bottled water - hits the ground, it is scooped up and handled accordingly. There comes no quantity criteria for reporting a spill, as anything spilled is considered reportable. The environmental permit for running the gas turbines utilized for producing electricity to run the operation are so stringent that load banks are required, to keep the generator load high enough to reduce NOX and SOX into the atmosphere. Now this takes more energy, as to load up a generator with dummy loads could be considered wasteful. But it is for the environment “First”! The entire mission is designed to decrease the “footprint” of our activities upon unique environments in efforts to fuel America. Such ventures by the Independents is a costly affair. Never will such wildcatters enjoy the lucrative payback enjoyed by the “Big Oil”. The infrastructure to explore and exploit a barrel of oil nowadays is ten-fold what it used to cost. Protecting the environment has added tremendously to the profit margin equation. So it makes one wonder, why the Independents? Because, change is coming your way. Good change at that. It is time to but aside the doom and gloom as we are intelligent enough to do a decent job here on this earth, for the sake of survival and our future and future generations, our children’s inheritance. Now, if we can only end the war and spend that money on something useful. Like eradicating breast cancer, then colon cancer, then all cancer in general. Then we can rejoice upon our collective efforts to bring human dignity above and beyond a failed political “cold war” mentality that has stymied righteousness for way too long. Wasting money for a protracted war that seems not to benefit anybody or anything except a handful of contractors on the government handout welfare roll-call, it is indeed time for a change. More in tune to a revolution comes the march. If industry can afford that change so can the political scene. We have before us Obama and the Barracuda with at least a smidgeon of hope of change with respect to the political scene. Let’s hope so, no matter which team claims victory come this November. In the meantime, rest assured that a change has already taken over where oilmen roam, to fuel this America!

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