Oil and Gas Engineers, Please Step Up
We are witnessing a tragedy unfold, and a prime example of what happens when engineers don’t deliver on their basic responsibilities to society. Maybe the engineers who designed the BP oil platform in the gulf just plain made a mistake in their design, or maybe they knew the design wasn’t right but were ordered to go ahead anyway, and didn’t tell anyone that corners were being cut. Either way an engineered system has catastrophically failed, and it seems like we’re only beginning to see the extent of the damage to the ecosystem and the economy.