Yavapai College Osher Lifelong Learners

Sedona AZ (June 2, 2010) – Yavapai College’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will offer a community discussion on issues relevant to the British Petroleum (BP) oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The discussion will be a part of the Yavapai College Sedona campus Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s News and Views class.

Guest speaker, Art Smith, has worked 35 years serving as both a drilling services engineer in his early career, and then as a geophysicist in the oil exploration business until his retirement. Smith will discuss drilling operations, pressure control, casing and well completion procedures.

Smith earned a BS in Math from Louisiana Tech University and began his career in the oil industry in 1966 as a drilling services engineer, offshore Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1968, Smith embarked in his career as a geologist helping to find sites for drilling exploration to create oil wells.

Smith has been involved in drilling exploration in the Gulf of Mexico in the Green Canyons, off the coast of the Congo in Angola, and the northwest shelf of Australia among others. Smith retired from work in 2001 and relocated to the Verde Valley in 2002.

When asked about the relevance of the issue to Verde Valley residents, Smith offered two main topics for consideration, economics and potential political consequences. For those that have invested in BP stock, investments have fallen in value an estimated 40%. The potential political consequence of all of this, asserted Smith, is that government might overreact and stop deep water drilling and curtail shallow water drilling at the expense of increasing oil import to countries such as Venezuela or Saudi Arabia.

Last but not least, Smith offered that the environmental consequences would be hard to determine but the effects on the local economy in the affected areas and related industries of seafood, tourism, oil and gas will be devastating.

Smith has served as a facilitator at OLLI since 2007 offering such classes as Verde Valley Geology, Volcanoes, History and Culture of Spain and Portugal, and Arts in Spain.

The event is open to the community and is free of charge. It will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. at the Yavapai College Sedona Campus, 4215 Arts Village Drive, Sedona, Arizona 86336, in Classroom 34. Seating is limited. Call 928-649-4275 to reserve your space.

OLLI is a self-directed membership driven organization within Yavapai College. The institute provides rich and robust educational and social experiences for mature adults. There are no grades or testing requirements, just a love of learning.

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