Nature shows can be troubling. We’ve all seen the imagery. Hobbling wildebeest on the African savannah dying off during a drought. Meanwhile, dispassionate lead animals barely glance back at the weak. Resolute and disciplined, the strong march on to their watery destination, becoming stronger through their pain. The corporate savannah known as the “oil patch” […]
“Look what technology did to shale gas,” said the conference speaker. “We now have abundant resources and the price of natural gas will be low for a long time.” Before heads in the audience could stop nodding, the speaker delivered the punch line: “What happened to gas is going to happen to light oil.”
Any worthwhile TV medical drama has a mandatory life-and-death scene. A patient lies on a hospital bed. His heartbeat beeps rhythmically while a green line traces a jagged pulse on a black, gridded screen. Suddenly, the patient’s heart gives out, the green line goes horizontal, the beep sustains and everyone in the room panics.
I have never heard an oil executive recite poetry in a board meeting. But that’s not to say it hasn’t happened. Nor does it suggest that wise words can’t come from literature.
