Every now and then I feel compelled to thank the Arts, all the members of the symphonies, operas, ballet companies, visual artists, you name it. The Arts obviously make life much more enjoyable. My gratitude to the Arts brings to mind, at times, another aspect of humanity, that of the vast range of human endeavors and accomplishments. Recently Amy and I attended the Utah Opera, and of course it was delightful. Such a human construct is of the highest merit in the realm of collective accomplishments.

Unfortunately, that "range of human endeavor" also reaches a low level in other areas. One of the flaws in human nature is in the area of management "ethics." Many in management look almost exclusively at the profit line and also how to funnel as much money as possible to their own pocket and the pockets of their friends and cronies.

As far as this "greed" thing goes, I'm sure some of you are saying, "What else is new?" And to say greed has consequences begs the same response.

But the consequences can be so destructive and harmful that one almost stands in awe at the stupidity of some decisions. For example, the decisions of oil companies to save a few million dollars in their multi billion-dollar business, by eliminating redundant safety measures, measures that would have ultimately been beneficial to both the company (and its workers) as well as the environment. Even a small percentage of what they will spend on this recent oil spill/blowout would buy them a lot of safety measures.

I realize that I wrote a nearly identical message about the oil spill last month as it was in its early stage. But as I write this message, we learn that their latest attempt to stop the flow has failed and it may not be until August that it can be stopped, if even then. So I think it is a topic worth revisiting and I intend to continue on with some sort of an environmental rant fairly regularly in my monthly messages.

It is unfortunate that we allow a "corporate imperialism" (as I have seen it termed) to exist in this country; an imperialism that is headed by people who skipped out of any business ethics class and went straight to lying, cheating, and stealing. And then when they get caught they use their ill-gotten booty to hire expensive lawyers to fight for them in the courts for years. It is also unfortunate that we allow industries of various kinds to have what I see as some sort of "freedom to pollute." Obviously we can't stop all human generated pollution, but we could do a lot better.

Sometimes I try to make my point in the following way: what would happen if, I, as an individual, decided that I don't want to pay for sewer and water charges and stop paying the bill? Additionally, I might decide to run my sewer line out to the gutter. Well, it wouldn't take long for my neighbors and the government to put a stop to my actions, and rightly so. But in essence this is what large corporations do, fueled by the "greed factor." As with pollution, the short cuts that oil companies like BP take are fueled the same way and end very badly, as we are seeing unfold in the Gulf of Mexico. We simply should not allow the bottom line in business to dictate in matters that effect public health and the health of the environment.

That's enough of my rambling for now. I need to listen to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," or something and I definitely need to get up into the Uintah Mountains and get lost among the rocks, lakes, and trees.

--Robert Lane
President, HoU