Professor Gretener died in 2008. This book is published posthumously from a manuscript and papers uncovered after his death.

Author Headshot

Author Interview*

* Excerpted from the Canadian Society of Exploration Geologists: “Instant coffee, instant soup, instant wisdom” – An interview with Peter Gretener, CSEG Recorder, December 2006, pp. 14-18.

Q:     Peter, to start, why don’t you tell us about your educational background?

A:     In 1949 I obtained an M.Sc. in petrology from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, because I was born in Switzerland you know, and in 1953 I got a Ph.D. in geophysics, gravity actually, from the same Institution.

Q:      How did you decide to come to Canada?

A:     In a country essentially devoid of any natural resources a geophysicist/geologist is like the Big Eye Swiss cheese, an export article, and where does a European go and not become a permanent expatriate? North America, Australia and New Zealand are about the only choices, at least I never heard of anybody getting landed immigrant status in, say, China. The USA demanded either a sponsor or $5,000, which was SFr. 20,000 or, in plain English, a hell of a lot of money. I had neither and so I ended up in Canada. Remember, in 1953 globalization was still a very limited concept.

Q:     You worked with King Hubbert at Shell from 1962-66. Tell us about Hubbert’s famous predictions and your impression about them.

A:     I worked for Shell from 1954 to 1966; the last four years down in Houston at the Shell Lab. In those years I lived through the glorious days of fieldwork as a geologist. In these more leisurely days the upstream end of the oil patch was taken for granted by higher management—a fact that only occurred to me much later when reading The Prize by Yergin in the 90’s. At the Shell Lab I ran into King Hubbert and John Handin and his group of geomechanics people. In my opinion, King Hubbert is one of the outstanding contributors to our geological knowledge in the 20th century. His predictions about the duration of the “oil age” made the front page of the National Post in September of 2005.

Q:     After your education in Zürich you worked at oil companies and universities. Which stint did you like the most and why?

A:     For my professional development there is no doubt that the Houston experience was most essential. However, living on the Gulf Coast was not my cup of tea and when leaving I looked for a job in God’s country, which for me lies between Tucson and Edmonton. Returning to Calgary in 1966 I had a decision to make: hang out my shingle or crawl into the Ivory Tower. I opted for the latter for the following reason. A freelancer not only has to be a respected professional but needs to have some business acumen and people must feel comfortable around him. My business sense leaves much to be desired and I am not “one of the boys”—I come on too strong. Also, in academia one justifiably can contemplate life as a geologist dealing in millions of years. No regrets.

Q:     Looking back at your geophysical career, could you share with us some of your memorable stories?

A:     Teaching the engineers one day a Chinese student pushed the office door open a bit wider, stuck in his head and said “Dr. Gretener, I heard bad things about your course but I have changed my mind.” Before I could react he was gone. Makes your day.

One day on the shores of Great Bear Lake, Jim Murphy the heli pilot said: “Our tail rotor bearing is loose. If it goes, we go round and round.” Well, we snuck along the beaches and made it back to camp where we were AOG [Aircraft on Ground] till the parts arrived. That was in 1957 when travelling to Inuvik was a daylong affair.

Q:      You seem to be against the specialist. Surely, it is the call of the day to have people with specialized experience?

A:     I have no difficulties with people specializing. All I say is from time to time look across the fence. The problems facing us today are complex and intertwined. We cannot afford a “silo” mentality or approach to them.

Q:     In your role as Professor Emeritus, do you get a chance to mentor students? You have an invaluable wealth of experience.

A:     No. We live not only in the oil and gas age but also in the age of instant coffee, instant soup and instant wisdom.

Q:     What is your perception about writing? Is it sharing of information, experience, knowledge or something else? Have you been doing this?

A:     I have followed my own advice and have been very wide ranging. During teaching you return to your ideas once a year. Unless you lay out your thoughts in a systematic way you will have a difficult time to recover your previous approach. Thus, I published much for my own benefit.

Q:      What do you enjoy most about teaching?

A:     You have to bring things down to the simplest level and there is always a better, shorter and more effective way of doing it. Also, frequently you discover that a concept you have been teaching for a long time has yet another and possibly much more important ramification.

Q:     What advice would you give the young person embarking on a professional career today?

A:     Keep your professional training broad. Do not treat the university as a trade school. There are meaningful social and humanities courses to be taken. One wholesome experience is “Technology of Ancient Times.” Absolutely amazing what we were able to do some say 2 or 3,000 years ago. It provides a different perspective of our own time. However, in order to make such things possible the technical schools must choose their humanistic counterparts carefully. Many still harbour a Luddite mentality. Thus, at CSM [Colorado School of Mines] the humanists were located in the centre of the campus at Stratton Hall. For them this was a beleaguered bunker in enemy territory. An invitation to debate the two cultures of C. P. Snow was politely declined as being “old hat.” More modern humanists will accept the technical skills of Homo sapiens as an integral part of being human and take a more tolerant view of the technocrats.

Selected Excerpts

Man is a newcomer. He is an integral part of our planet, but not an essential one. There is no natural law that guarantees his survival. (Chapter 3)

Life has always been risky and will remain so. The joy of being born includes the inevitable acceptance of death. (Chapter 4)

There might be a critical population level beyond which “man simply goes ape,” the reverse of what we normally contemplate. Since we evidently do not love each other, to exceed a critical density in packing may be fatal from a social rather than physical point of view. (Chapter 7)

We are like visitors, irresponsible ones at that—from outer space—who exploit this place while it lasts, and then move on not caring what, if anything, we leave behind. (Chapter 9)

Our complete dominance is closely related to our success as super toolmakers. This is responsible for our rapidly increasing numbers and our ability to move into every corner of the world, relentlessly pursuing all that creeps, runs, flies, or swims. (Chapter 9)

All human systems—political, economic, and religious—have the capacity to function. The fact that none of them does function is not the fault of the systems but rather due to the fact that they all must rely on the same deficient “brick”—Homo not so sapiens. (Chapter 11)

Greed just makes no sense when all possessions have to be surrendered in what is, after all, a short time (geologically speaking). (Chapter 11)

A more realistic attitude on our part towards the universe, the earth, and other forms of terrestrial life will go a long way towards solving our problems. (Chapter 11)

A destitute but wise human being is an evolutionary success, but a wealthy and almost all-powerful moron is doomed to extinction. (Chapter 13)

Where are our leaders? The politicians muddle along according to the wishes of their constituents, the clergy has faded into the background of anonymity, and the academics are busy pursuing their research—read egos—in their ivory towers. (Chapter 16)

The lack of integrity is somewhat puzzling in a basically affluent society. It is displayed to a large extent by people who have no need for it, i.e. the affluent segment of the population. It is borne out of greed—the insatiable desire for more and more material goods and the need to have everything that others have. It leads to the hectic rat race of modern western nations and usually ends by the racer being buried prematurely, a victim of his addiction. Whatever he has amassed remains behind—at least there are no known cases where someone has taken it with him. (Chapter 21)

Physical laziness is easily visible and demonstrable while intellectual laziness is far more subtle and less obvious, but at the same time its consequences are far more devastating. (Chapter 24)

We come to realize today that in the western world we are presently enjoying a standard of living which we do not deserve; in fact, we have mortgaged the future with our behaviour. (Chapter 31)

It is customary today in affluent societies to subscribe to a waste of material goods which is absolutely unnecessary. Mental and spiritual freedom, the most important aspects of a dignified life, can be maintained without the presently associated high level of material consumption. On the contrary, the material consumption, and the energies directed in the production and consumption of these material goods, detracts from enjoying the more leisurely aspects of life. (Chapter 42)

In fighting boredom, we blow away more resources between Friday night and Monday morning than during the entire working week. Conclusion: the enormous resource appetite (and concomitant pollution) of the overdeveloped countries is largely fuelled by our desire for entertainment and is not required for a basic, comfortable existence. (Chapter 43)

Green movements are hell bent on saving the planet. Well, let’s just be realistic. The planet is doing just fine. True, it has a little skin cancer, deadly to the human race, but hardly of any consequence to the planet. (Chapter 43)

Does it make sense to explore the short span of modern man’s history without ever measuring it against the background of the history of our planet, or at least the history of life as we know it today? I submit that such an approach might induce historians to take a somewhat humbler view of our species, much to the advantage of us all. (Chapter 44)

Where man himself is involved, and we look essentially at ourselves, we are apt to become emotional and our unbiased scientific minds tend to be shrouded in the smoke that rises from our burnt egos. (Chapter 44)

History tells us that climate is not a constant. Warm and cold periods alternate. In each case habitable regions are opened and closed, which leads to mass migrations. In an overpopulated world, such migrations are difficult to accommodate. The core problem is not the climate but overpopulation. (Chapter 44)

The interdisciplinary dialogue is not a natural activity for humanity. It does not come easily to an ambitious, aggressive, and egocentric animal such as man. It cannot and never will be a widespread and universal activity. In order to bring about a minimum level of interdisciplinary dialogue, we shall have to outwit ourselves. (Chapter 44)

Modern man’s predicament is not as obvious as being at war, though the consequences are far more serious. (Chapter 44)

A permissive society in an overcrowded world is an asinine concept. (Chapter 44)

Excellence next door is not excellence but competition. Excellence only acknowledges other excellence when it is safely removed in either space or time, from which it follows that the best excellence is dead. (Chapter 44)

In all western countries, energy consumption could be reduced anywhere up to 30% without any effect on the standard of living simply by cutting waste and accepting some inconveniences. To effect this requires a change in human attitude rather than any kind of technological advance. To stubbornly refuse to even consider such alternatives means to reject the human revolution. This can only spell doom, since man may be powerful, but, unfortunately, he is not almighty. (Chapter 47)