Wow, an outer space conference.

I’ve gotten a few e-mails lately about a meeting coming up in Dubai called World Space Conference 2010, which sounds, well, cool. And it’s taking place in Dubai—which advertises on the Space Risk Forum Web site that it’s 75 degrees there, and sunny.

Think about it, a whole conference devoted to outer space. It’s “2001, A Space Odyssey,” “Star Wars,” “ET” and “Wall-E” combined!

I went to the Web site to check out the conference program—one can dream.

The three-day program opens up with registration, followed by brunch, a welcoming coffee and an introduction speech. Next is the keynote speaker, Ramin Khadem, Ph.D., chairman of the board of the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France, and chairman of Odyssey Moon. Odyssey Moon, I read on the company’s Web site, was formed to “capitalize on commercial opportunities created by renewed interests in exploring the Moon.”

The organization said it is developing a “commercial lunar robotic transportation service to meet the pent up and growing demand for low cost, frequent access to the Moon supporting science, exploration and commerce.” So that should be an interesting talk.

After that is a two-part panel discussion on technical developments in the space industry, and later a cocktail reception. Nice.

Reading about the Tuesday morning program, however, reality began to set in with a panel discussion on the impact of the economy on the space industry. Even more so with the afternoon agenda, consisting of a panel discussion on the legal and regulatory environment within the space industry. They are to discuss whether the “space insurance product” does what it is supposed to do; improving the flow of underwriting information; claims handling; and future space insurance policy needs.

On Wednesday a panel is to focus on various topics, including satellite servicing, future satellite applications and private commercial space flight.

So there you have it.

While in reality the conference seems a little, well, mundane, I’m reminding myself that this is the case with any industry, space included. There are risk management, safety and training issues, liability issues, and insurance coverage and claims issues.

And while the movies may seem a lot more intriguing when it comes to outer space, the truth is, who wants to see a movie about whether or not an insurance policy will cover the crash of the starship “Enterprise”? While some of us might find this interesting, most would not.

So perhaps my expectations for a space conference were a little too high. After all, we’re not talking about a Star Trek convention here—it’s a conference dealing with a highly regulated industry. And like every other industry it is impacted by the economic recession—although the Dubai location speaks “up-and-coming industry with means” loud and clear.

And hey, at least the weather is nice in Dubai. Come to think of it, I wonder what the weather is like on the moon right now.

It’s the little things that can make or break a career—and it often comes down to risk management, or the lack of it.

Who would have thought that a snow storm could cast such a shadow over the career of Washington , D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty? But when a storm dumps 22 inches on a city—the nation’s capital no less—that is not accustomed to such numbers, a good snow removal plan is critical. It appears, however, that the mayor didn’t adequately check into that aspect of D.C.’s preparedness before the snowfall.

As risk managers know, it’s the simple, most obvious things that are the easiest to overlook. For example, are there enough trucks? Are those trucks equipped to handle 22 inches of show? Are there enough drivers lined up to work around the clock—for days if necessary? Is there enough salt and salting equipment? Are the streets cordoned off so that they all get plowed?

“Well, it was such a heavy snow, why should the mayor be blamed?” you might ask. From media reports, snow plows repeatedly cleared some streets and not others. And at one point, 25 percent of the trucks were broken down, unable to handle the heavy snow. Scads of people still have their cars buried under snow—mountains of it. Yes, it was a record snowstorm, but not the first to ever hit the area and there was time to prepare.

The mayor made an appearance on “The Early Show” on CBS and from what I’ve read seemed to be making light of the situation. He promised the roads would be cleared over the long weekend, but this is little consolation to people who couldn’t get to work, or wherever they needed to go. And once all the streets are plowed, people will still have to dig out their cars from not only the snow piled around them, but also what the snowplows push to the side.

Like many in the “C-suite” in the private sector, perhaps some public sector bosses would also do well to pay attention to the recently aired reality series, “Undercover Boss.” In this show, a company’s leader works undercover in several lower level jobs within their organization to find out what is really going on, how workers are treated, how the public is treated and how they can make their organization stronger.

As for Mayor Fenty, people will forget any number of a candidate’s shortcomings when they vote. But memories like those from this snowstorm—that is still affecting so many on a personal level—will be difficult to overcome on election day.

Updates about the massive Toyota recall are coming out daily, sometimes hourly. There are more recalls and more concerns from drivers—a public relations nightmare of the worst kind. Not only are huge dollar amounts and a company’s reputation at stake, but potentially people’s lives.

Yesterday a statement in the media by Chris Gidez, director of risk management and crisis communications at Hill & Knowlton, a public relations firm, got my attention. He made this point: “Today companies have to be Johnny-on-the spot as soon as something hits,” he said. “We live in a Facebook world and you have to move fast to keep consumers informed.”

I contacted Mr. Gidez for an interview and posted a story on our Web site today at http://property-casualty.com. He made some good observations comparing the two cases.

In today’s world, for example, the Tylenol case, for years seen as the “gold standard” in risk management, might not fare as well. Tylenol waited about a week before recalling product from store shelves. In today’s world of blogs and Internet news sites—which means reporters often are churning out news 24/7—a week is an eternity. Organizations need to have a plan of action in place well in advance, detailing who is a spokesperson and the types of things that need to be said.

He observed that in our digital world, where even deleted e-mails can be resurrected, anything that went on within the Tylenol organization before the recall would have been discovered and most likely leaked.

While it appeared initially that Toyota has done a good job of responding, the auto giant is now coming under fire for not coming forward soon enough with potentially damaging information.

To make things worse, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood caused a stir on Wednesday when he advised that a Toyota car owner “stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.” He later recanted the statement after Toyota shares began to drop, modifying it to, “if you own one of these cars or if you’re in doubt, take it to the dealer and they’re going to fix it.”

In the digital age, Mr. Gidez said, companies need to keep in mind that not only does word travel fast because of technology that didn’t exist years ago, but that details will be leaked, pundits will discuss every aspect of a situation, every crumb of information will be blasted over the Internet and blogs will be written.

We live in the “Google Age,” he said.

While the company will survive, what lies ahead are years of court cases and class action lawsuits and a “new normal,” for Toyota, Mr. Gidez observed.