Contribution to Book
The Energy–Complexity Spiral
Drilling Down: The Gulf Oil Debacle and Our Energy Dilemma
(2012)
Abstract
Engineers build many wonderful things that few of us would choose to live without. Yet, as we have seen, some structures are of such complexity and magnitude that an unforeseen failure can kill nearly a dozen men, ruin thousands of livelihoods, and pollute a valuable ecosystem. Failure on this scale is obviously undesirable, yet it happens to bridges, space shuttles, and giant drilling rigs. In response, our instinct is to seek proximate causes, which include such factors as mistakes, oversights, and technical failures, the very things on which most attention has been concentrated in the news media. By applying some fixes – better training, better oversight, a different corporate culture – we assume that the accident could have been prevented and that we can avoid future ones. Engineers must examine and learn from these proximate causes of failure, but as a society we are bound to seek the ultimate cause of tragedies such as the Deepwater Horizon’s blowout.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2012
Editor
Joseph A. TainterTadeusz W. Patzek
Publisher
Springer Science+Business Media
Citation Information
Joseph Tainter. "The Energy–Complexity Spiral" New York, NYDrilling Down: The Gulf Oil Debacle and Our Energy Dilemma (2012) p. 65 - 96 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/joseph_tainter/266/