The Oops Factor

Dear Editor:

I believe we need severe consequences for the “Oops Factor,” as in “Oops, the gypsy moths have gotten out. Oops, the killer bees are free. Oops, the safety mechanisms were not put in place to save time and money.” Consequently, the Gulf of Mexico is awash in oil and lingering death is alive and well.

In behavorial psychology, there is a response cost for engaging or not engaging in a specified behavior or behavioral program. If those responsible for taking action cause a major breech that damages the environment or life, they should face consequences of a personal nature, such as having to put their lives on the line. First, having their genetic code recorded. Second, determining if they did everything within their power to protect Mother Earth. Finally, having their physical being utilized to grant life to other souls that are a genetic match. Thus, some atonement would come from their pathetic/apathetic existence.

This consequence is even more imperative as scientists toil to create life that does not exist within nature. Show me a person who is intelligent and responsible enough to create life, and I will willingly place myself in servitude to that individual.

Look what humans have done to our planet when unearthing and using fossil fuels. The Gulf of Mexico is now a poisonous body of water and those responsible for its demise only worry about getting their leisure time returned, while death rises from the sea floor.

As a gunner’s mate in the Navy and a seaman in the Merchant Marines, I spent many happy years sailing in the Gulf’s deep, blue waters while viewing an abundance of exotic life forms.

I lived in Florida and then in New Orleans for three years. The Gulf was my playground. I came north to get my third mates license and never returned home, but lucked out by living in Berkeley Springs for 32 years. My good fortune does not alleviate the misfortune of those who have made the Gulf their home. My heavy heart and distraught soul painfully weep for all those creatures that are living/dying in this manmade hell.

I believe that those who oversee a course of action would be more mindful of their obligations to protect the innocents that share the earth with them, if they knew for certain that their physical existence was on the line.

Ralph Gonzales
Berkeley Springs