Hunkerin' Down Hunkerin’ Down I guess, if you are Southern or maybe even Western, you would just nod, when someone says, “I’m just a-hunkerin” down, but since the Democrat-Gazette is now a worldwide paper, since it’s digital…”Thank you Walter”….Some readers might not understand “Hunkerin” Down. Actually, in response to a couple of recent columns, I received several emails from California, so I might need to clarify the phase. Back during one of the erratic oil pricings of the late 1980s, where the price of oil dropped to under $10/bbl, my partner and I were in Midland, Texas trying to find financing for a well in South Texas. We were talking to an old Texas oilman, who had been in business for decades, and I said, “How in the world are we going to get through this $8 oil?” He just shook his head and cracked, “I don’t know about y’all, but I’s just gonna hunker down till it passes.” Okay, that’s pretty clear what hunkerin’ down means, and I would think, if you are anything like our family you are hunkerin’ down. That’s called “sheltering in place” by some of the more sophisticated writers, but not by me. I’m hunkerin’ down, bored, and mad as hell. Yes, mad, and that’s not too strong of a word, because as it turns out the virus has not just made us hunker down, it has affected every part of our lives. It has greatly reduced our quality of life. I’m an oil and gas exploration geologist, and you might think my profession wouldn’t be affected. However, not only was there impact from the virus, it has almost eliminated oil and gas exploration….and my job. When the virus began its worldwide strangle hold, it drove oil futures, which determine the price of oil ahead of the market, down to below $0. In fact it got down to a negative $34 per barrel. In other words, they would pay you that much to take a barrel of oil. Of course, it didn’t stay there for long, but today, as the market bounces around $35 per barrel, and because of an oversupplied world market, hundreds of drilling rigs are being stacked, and the capital to drill new wells has dried up. That’s because the income of currently producing oil wells, which were at $70 per barrel before the pandemic, are now at $36 per barrel. That has reduced cash flow by over 50%. Those are the dollars, which were being used to drilled new wells. Yes, we’re a lot more than being inconvenienced. If we analyze our activities and daily lives before the pandemic compared to today, we can easily see how enormous the impact has been on our daily lives. But the impact is varied depending on where we live. The first area in the country, which was hit the hardest, was New York City, and to combat the virus, the mayor and governor took extraordinary steps to control the first wave of the virus. It seems, as the second wave starts, they are determined to keep it from being as bad as the first wave of infections. They are mandating masks, social distancing, and are committed to shutting down segments of the cities entertainment district, which includes bars and restaurants, if the situation gets any worse. However, since there is not a national mandate, which would make masks and other safeguards mandatory nationwide, the situation varies from state to state. If we take a look at the various state’s current situation it will clarify things a bit. The top two states in the country for new virus infections, to me, seem to be the least likely ones to lead the pack; North and South Dakota. You would think in states, where you can drive for miles without even seeing a car, would be at the bottom of the list. But these states aren’t, and it’s not difficult to understand why. In order for the virus to spread it must travel from an infected person to a non-infected person, and of course that is why we hunker down, maintain social distancing, and wear masks. Yes, that’s it, and the countries who crack down and enforce those safeguards have licked the virus. The entire continent of Australia has totally eradicated the virus along with New Zealand, and numerous other countries, which have, while not eliminated it have it under control. These countries got the virus under control by doing what it takes to control the virus. A study from the nonprofit research institute IZA found the Germany’s local and regional mask mandate “reduced the cumulative number of registered Covid-19 cases between 2.3% and 13% over a period of 10 days after they became compulsory” and “the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 40%” Now back to North and South Dakota; the Dakotas never fully closed down, and that allowed the virus to spread in bars, restaurants, parties, and other large gatherings. A motorcycle rally in Sturgis, where the attendance was estimated at over 500,000, along with very little mask wearers, and where social distancing was ignores, is certainly a red flag Some experts blame that motorcycle rally for being part of the catalyst that spread the virus through the area. Both states have made masks voluntary. A Carnegie Mellon University project that tracks Covi-19, stated South Dakotans and North Dakotans are among the least likely out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia to wear masks. They rank 49th and 50th. Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota has been quoted as saying, “Here in South Dakota, we trust our people. We respect their rights. We won’t shut them down.” In the United States, we don’t have compulsory mask wearing or social distancing. That is left up to the states. Of course, as the number of deaths and infections continue to grow it becomes obvious our Country is not doing what it take to control the spread. We have continued to lead the world in infections and deaths, and if we are going to control the virus and reduce deaths we must do what other successful countries are doing, and that is to mandate masks, social distancing, and large group gathering. Of course, to make the mandate effective we must impose significant fines on individuals and companies who flaunt those restrictions. If we don’t, the virus will continue to kill Americans, and until we reach herd immunity, hundreds of thousands will die. A vaccine will probably be available before the end of the years, but it will be well into 2120 before enough American receive the vaccine to give our County protection. Today, there are thousands of dead Americans who made the virus political, and didn’t follow any of the safeguards. Politics should have never been a part of an attempt to either ignore the virus, or diminish the need for safeguards. Hopefully, we can now put politics behind us and concentrate on eliminate this pandemic.