Loren’s Comments (group member since Sep 18, 2011)

Loren’s comments from the Q&A with Loren Steffy group.

At yesterday's panel discussion at the SXSW Eco conference in Austin, the topic quickly turned to whether we need offshore drilling in the Gulf, or for that matter, anywhere else in the Gulf. I've long maintained that U.S. energy needs and basic economics mean offshore drilling must continue, but we also have to make sure it's done safely. Is it possible to extract oil from beneath the ocean without destroying it? How can we realistically meet the world's growing energy demands and drill less?

From the moment the Deepwater Horizon disaster happened, comparisons with the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 seemed inevitable. What struck me, though, as I read the final report by investigators from the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last week was how cautious their recommendations were compared with the panel that investigated the Exxon Valdez.

I discussed this in more detail in a recent Houston Chronicle column. http://www.chron.com/business/steffy/...

Despite having more strongly worded recommendations, many of the from the Exxon Valdez report weren't applied to the Gulf. The question: could the Deepwater Horizon disaster have been avoided if the lessons from the Valdez spill were applied to the Gulf?