Don’t tolerate work environment

THE DEBATE over the impact of gas and oil on our environment and economy seems to have skipped over an important facet of the issue. What about the mental, emotional and physical health of those who work in the oil patch? What place do oil booms and busts have in shaping the lives of individuals, communities and economies?

Reading Michael Patrick F. Smith’s “The Good Hand,” which relates his nine-month pilgrimage as a laborer in the Williston Basin, offers some insights . ... He lays out an unvarnished picture of what it’s like to be a swamper in the down and dirty work of extraction.

Like so many others, “Magic Mike” as they came to call him, went to North Dakota to make a stake and get a new start . ... He paid exorbitant rent to sleep on the floor with five or six other men, or in a basement or spare rooms. His offhours were spent drinking and womanizing . ... The work was dirty and dangerous in a setting where fighting, reckless driving and heavy equipment posed a constant threat of injury or death. The Permian Basin has some of the same issues.

What is it about an industry that fosters this kind of culture? Why do we ignore the cost and corruption of human worth in this system? If the agricultural or airline industry had this kind of work environment, the response would be outrage. The use of oil products touches every part of modern society . ... Pollution can come in many forms.

GENE HARBAUGH Carlsbad