Oil Spill Cleanup Technician Wanna Be ... That's Me

I'm in a Facebook group, INAFJ, which stands for I Need a Flipping Job.  We both know "F" does not stand for "flipping" but you get the idea.  The group is non-stop banter with job ideas, unemployment issues, and exposing of politicians of both political parties for their ongoing hot air regarding the unemployment situation in America.

News articles such as "don't apply here if you don't have a job" have surfaced on INAFJ.  Such screening by prospective employers automatically and categorically excludes the unemployed.  The reason: if you got laid off, it may have been for performance reasons.  Yeah, right, like all 15 million of us.  Just for the record, I consider that type of screening to be highly offensive, unethical, unfair, cruel, stupid, and disgusting on every level.  I have the reviews to prove my performance was anything but substandard.

But anyway ... yesterday, someone posted an application for employment at Shamrock Environmental Corporation. Shamrock, among others, is tasked with oil spill clean up in four states, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.  The pay was only $13, but the job included housing, transportation to the job site, food per diem of $26/day, and lots of overtime work/pay.  I saw that and said, "I'm going."

I hastily printed out the application.  How I would LOVE to go. Definitely.  I've been cleaning up messes my whole life so I am totally experienced. I'm mentally and physically able to work.  And yes, I would like to be part of the solution instead of the blame game that has impaired resolution and continued long beyond its usefulness. 

Unfortunately, by the time I got the seven page application printed and my pen out (within minutes of seeing the posting), another INAFJ member posted that the company was no longer taking applications, as shown on the web site above.  That fast.  I'm glad this awful oil spill situation is being addressed, I hope it is contained soon, I hope the clean up is speedy and complete, and I hope people who are in greatest need get jobs, even temporary jobs.  And yes, I hope BP has to pay, a whole lot more than the $20 billion already committed.

As to me and the job situation ... still looking, but making alternative plans out of necessity.  {still smiling}

Oil on Animals In the Gulf ... A Risk Management Debacle

I rarely speak out on topics which could be construed as political, but today is an exception.  I am absolutely abhorred by what I see in these pictures!

Animals Affected By the Gulf Oil Spill

Because I follow a wide range of stories impacting the financial markets, I have read numerous articles on the impact of the Gulf oil spill.  Let's cast aside politics here.  It's not Sarah Palin's fault, it's not Barack Obama's fault, it's not the government's fault.  Getting down to root cause, this situation was caused by a lack of prudent risk management by a huge company which had the means and resources to do better.

Even though I am not employed in the oil exploration and drilling industry, as a former risk manager I clearly understand that it is a company's responsibility to assess, monitor and control for risks, especially the big ones.  Government regulation is relevant, too, but let's not blame the government when the primary accountability rests with the company.

BP should have been voluntarily assessing and monitoring its key risk indicators, among them that the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico could have a blowout and a massive explosion.  A team at least should have been testing and controlling for such risks, as well as others, on a regular basis.  And controls should have included remedies to resolve rapidly a situation such as this.  Didn't someone at BP bother to assess the environmental, financial, and reputational risks for a disaster like this and decide it was a high priority to put some controls in place??

What I wish I had is a link to a slide show on the business impact of this disaster, and yes, it is one.  The millions of dollars in lost revenues, personal income, and other fallout will be felt in the Gulf for months and possibly years to come.  Rig contractors, hotel operators, restaurants, fishing operations, and tour boats and those people they would hire are a few of those impacted.

Finally, to BP, all the heartwarming and genuine "We're sorry" commercials online and on television don't make me feel any better when I see the pictures of those animals.  And these newly crafted BP logos are at best, soberingly funny.  Even the articles forecasting a bankruptcy filing in BP's future provide little solace for my righteous indignation.  I just wish I had a gigantic rewind button to make it all go away.