When you are a big-wig in the oil industry, you've no need to answer a letter through the 'letters to the editor' column with its 250-word restriction - you can claim the whole of the EDITORIAL/OPINION block to get around it!
Mr Pfahlert, Petroleum Exploration and Production Association executive officer opened today's Southland Times opinion piece with,
"Environment Southland councillor Robert Guyton has asked what drilling companies would do in the event of a serious spill."
To his great credit, Mr Pfahlert then launches into a detailed description of a range of contingency plans he hopes would address a serious spill should it occur off the coast of Southland. He cites 'international support', the use of oil dispersants, booms and skimmers, a wildlife response unit and 'well-capping technology' that must necessarily be sited overseas. Each of his points are highly contestable and I'm compiling a response that addresses those but most striking to the casual reader would be a counter to Mr Pfahlert's analogy of the air crash. He says,
"By way of analogy, we don't design planes to protect passengers when they crash, They are designed for the purpose of flying, yet people who fly understand that the consequences of an air crash are often fatal. "
Goodness! There's so much to play with there! I'm thinking immediately of those who choose not to fly and wondering about Southlanders who choose not to have oil rigs off shore of their beaches. Mr Pfahlert's analogy doesn't work so well there! There's the whole insurance issue as well. Airlines, you'd imagine, compensate the families of those killed in air-crashes? Will the oil industry cover all the damage that results from a spill? Car manufacturers provide an analogy too, with their designed-for-a-crash vehicles, shock-absorbing chassis, air-bags, side-strengthening etc. And of course, travellers can go by bicycle or even, perish the thought, walk.
I think Mr Pfahlert chose a poor analogy in his falling-from-the-sky passenger jet.
Still, I mustn't be churlish. I was very gracious of Mr Pfahlert to respond to my questioning so comprehensively.
I expect he'll get some response via the 'letters' column.
Perhaps you, gentle reader, might be moved to put pen to paper.
Later today, I'll transcribe the article here, or perhaps lift Kylie's scanned copy. Sadly, the Southland Times doesn't put it's Opinion pieces on line any more.
