Common (?) Sense Guest Editorial
GREG KOZERA | Shale Crescent USA I was on a Zoom call this week with an executive of a company we would like to have in our Region. I asked him, “What keeps you awake at night?” His response, “The challenge of finding people with common sense.” surprised me. Later I was talking to a friend whose company does solar power installations. His big challenge was, “People don’t understand solar panels don’t work at night.” That simple fact was common sense to both of us. It is called “solar power” and not “dark power”. We both understand solar power requires a dependable back up power source like natural gas or coal. Batteries haven’t developed to be able to store large amounts of power. Common Sense is defined as the ability to reach intelligent conclusions. It suggests an average degree of judgement and reasoning without special knowledge. Common sense on the job would be taking book knowledge and applying it to a real situation. Some examples of common sense would be; not wearing sunglasses at night or wearing a coat on a cold day in winter or washing hands after using the bathroom. Doing a task the same way and expecting a different result shows a lack of common sense. Being in a crowd particularly of strangers without a mask during this pandemic is a good way to catch the virus and shows a lack of common sense. There are plenty of examples on the internet showing a lack of common sense. Stories of people committing a crime and posting a video of the act on Facebook are common. That shows a lack of common sense. There are people, some in elected office, who believe we don’t need fossil fuels. They have convinced others this is a good idea. They can’t explain how to manufacture an M-95 mask using a windmill. They are part of the “Don’t understand solar panels don’t work at night” crowd. These folks don’t understand fossil fuels are required to make windmills and solar panels. They also have no problem using cars, planes, cell phones and other fossil fuel products. Their actions show a lack of knowledge and a lack of common sense. Common sense is our ability to think and reason for ourselves. It is not blindly following the crowd or believing everything we read on the internet. For example, we don’t need government to regulate the wearing of masks during this pandemic. We do need government to tell us the truth and give us guidance. With a little common sense and respect for others, 6
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we can figure out the rest. An individual running outside by themselves doesn’t need a mask. Wearing one could be dangerous. Someone showing up at my church on Sunday without a mask shows disrespect for our congregation especially for our elderly who would be at risk if they caught the virus. Wearing a mask in that circumstance, even if the person thought they were well, shows common sense and doing the right thing for others. As a District Manager, I inherited a District with a horrible safety record. Our employees wouldn’t wear safety equipment. We had rules with punishments up to termination if we caught someone not wearing PPE. At night, on a well-site in southern West Virginia the odds of getting caught were low. As the manager, I realized I had to change. We changed the focus from rules to employee and family well- being. Our safety record became one of the best in the comCommon (?) Sense continued on page 7
AUGUST 2020
