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Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners - The Computer Factory
Untitled Document
Biggest Disaster: Oil Spill or PC Virus?
“Disaster” is in the eye of the beholder. When Nome thinks I need a
haircut she describes my coif as a “disaster.” I may think it looks and
feels fine but the clippers are already in her hand.
Our customers bring computers to us with a “problem.” If it turns out
to be a virus and takes a couple of days to fix, it becomes a “crisis.”
If the Virus screws up their files, the “crisis” becomes a “disaster.”
It is much easier to comprehend the impact of a “disaster” when it happens
to us or when we can at least measure its magnitude.
The Gulf oil rig explosion was a measurable “disaster.” 11 people died,
17 were injured. The ensuing oil leakage is an entirely different “disaster,”
but of what magnitude. How can we quantify it?
The media, politicians and eco-activists have a vested interest in promoting
the deception that the Gulf oil leak is an unprecedented “disaster” of
biblical proportions. Is it really? Everything we see and hear in the news would
lead us to believe so. Has anyone stepped forward to say, “It isn’t as bad
as they’re making it seem?” Of course not. Such a person would be branded
insensitive, anti-environment and out of touch with reality. So how big and
bad is this “disaster.”
PBS estimates the leak to be 92 million gallons or just over 2 million barrels
through July 21st. The world’s largest tankers hold twice that amount. The Persian
Gulf spill in 1991 was five times that size. The biggest American spill (the
Lakeview Gusher, 1910-11) in Kern County, California was four times as large.The
IXTOC Gulf of Mexico leak in 1979-1980 was about the same size as our present
leak. In WW II both sides blew up hundreds of tankers at sea and coastal oil
storage facilities. A storage tank 500 feet in diameter and 62 feet tall would
hold all the oil leaked in the Gulf to date. The value of the oil leaked so
far is about 150 million dollars. It represents about 5% of one day’s consumption
of oil in the US. The clean up will cost about 20 billion dollars.
The news features dirty birds, idled fishermen and sad eyed resort owners but
what about the folks who are making a lot of money as the clean up continues
and millions pour in along with promises of complete restitution for everyone
economically damaged. Tourists who normally visit Gulf resorts are flocking
instead to Atlantic resorts. One mans “disaster” is another man’s windfall.
The most significant economic and human “disaster” threat appears to be the
President’s moratorium on the offshore drilling industry.
The spill won’t hurt the American economy. The environment may suffer, for
a time and then rebound gloriously. It always does. Five years from now many
gulf coast residents will regard “the big leak” as the best thing that ever
happened to them, just as many of the Exxon Valdez “disaster victims”
do today. “Disaster” is in the eye of the beholder.
Computer virus attacks, however, happen to millions of users every day. They
benefit no one and cost far more than the biggest oil spills. Now that’s a “disaster.”
Where are all the reporters?
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The Computer Buzz