A dream, perhaps.

I have dreams. Sometimes they're the seeds of stories, and sometimes they're just my brain going on holiday and taking me along for the ride. 

This time, it was the seed of a story, but probably not one with any publishable content. Yet still, I think there's some meaning here, so I'm going to try to write it down while I can. The setting is the well of the United States Senate. The principal character; Senator Robert Coughlin, R- AZ, a fictional Senator from my home state.
The Senate chamber was full. All 50 Senators and the non-voting member from Puerto Rico were in attendance. The edges of the floor were lined with Pages and Interns. The gallery was full of reporters, and incongruously, a group of Girl Scouts and their escorting troop leader. The air was warm, despite the tons of Air Conditioning in the building. Warm and humid, as only a Summer in the District of Columbia can be. The President Pro Tem of the Senate was at the podium. He looked each way, adjusted his tie and then spoke:  "The Chair recognizes the Gentleman from Arizona for ten minutes. " He then looked hard at Bob Coughlin, who was standing at his desk, wearing his signature western cut suit and a bolo tie with a silver and turquoise clasp. On his head was a relatively new Stetson hat. He waited a moment and then spoke. His words would shock many.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate, I rise in opposition to the resolution before the Senate, the Gulf of Mexico Fracturing approval resolution. "  Ignoring the collective gasp from his own side, the big man lifted his hat and continued. "We have all seen the studies promulgated by our friends in the Petrochemical Industry, and I'm sure they mean well. . . Yet, our own agencies, including the National Geological Survey, the Army Corps of Engineers and three public universities have said that this idea is a bad idea. The idea of pumping volatile chemicals into the bedrock below the Gulf of Mexico in order to free up a massive store of oil. I'm sure many of you noticed I have a new hat. This one has what the hat makers call a Gambler's Crease to it, possibly because it was popularized by old time Gamblers. Well folks. We can gamble on what the Oil Companies say is a small chance of disaster." Here, he slaps his hat on his desk, and leans backwards a bit. "We can do that. It's within our power. We can, by approving this measure before us, allow the big oil boys a big chance to make big money, cheaply. Let's make that clear -- this measure would not approve the only way of recovering that oil, it would simply approve the cheapest, most expedient way. " here he paused for a breath, letting his words sink in. Then he continued on. "As many of you know, I am considered a conservative. But what does Conservative mean ? It means to conserve. To hold onto. To stand athwart the course of change and say "no more!". A few members gave what amounted to a polite golf clap at this, but Coughlin didn't wait for the applause to die down, he just plowed on. "The people of the United States elected those of us in this body to protect them and this nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Well, does that not also mean protect them from threats of disaster ? Previous generations thought so, that's why we have flood control measures, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. So now comes this group of corporations -- no doubt run by people who are good folks at heart -- but they want to do something that can create conditions in which a small explosion in the bedrock below the seabed might just set off a huge pocket of natural gas. The result could be a large scale explosion, or a slow burn off of natural gas. This might just cause an undersea quake which might just cause a fissure which would then allow huge amounts of burning gas to escape, and take with it some millions of barrels of crude oil. Now, some might argue that the odds are small. I've seen reports from reliable geologists to say it's anywhere between 5 and 30 percent per shot. Of course, the good folks at the oil companies say it's around one percent. Well, they also want to shoot in some 25 wells. I think you can do the math. " He stuck his hat back on his head, and looked around the room. Everyone was watching him. He had them spellbound. "I've spent enough times in casinos to know that the house always wins in the end. It's a gamble. A gamble we cannot afford. I urge all of you most strongly to not vote for this measure. You wouldn't throw a truckload of waste oil on your vegetable garden, and the Gulf of Mexico is many times more valuable than that. There are other means of recovering oil, and other places to get it from. This plan is foolishly dangerous. Protecting ourselves from our worst possible mistakes isn't political, it's only sense. Yes, I realize that I'll likely be challenged for my seat in the next elections. But, I'll have stood for something valuable. At long last, after a career of some decades, something of great importance is here before us. Choose wisely my fellow Americans. My fellow Senators. Think carefully and choose wisely. That's all I have to say. I yield back the balance of my time. " Coughlin carefully set the microphone back in it's holder and wearily sat down. The motion to invoke cloture was not long in coming. He hoped his words would be enough.
* * *
Well, who knows how that would turn out.
A couple technical notes : Nobody has as of this writing made any plans for deep water fracking.
It's probably not do-able. Yet, in 2010, the Deep Water Horizon oil rig experienced an explosion and fire which caused a massive oil leak. We're still paying the environmental cost of that disaster today.
There is not yet any disaster on the horizon of the magnitude my fictional Senator outlines. But I, like Senator Coughlin, believe in the wise use of what we have. Buildings should be inserted cleanly. Oil rigs should be configured to cause minimal environmental damage. Let's not pour a bunch of waste oil in our own gardens, okay ?