Stand Tall and Speak Up (October 2005)

Since moving to northern California from Texas in early 2000, I have gotten a lot of practice defending our industry. After 21 years working in upstream research and business development for Mobil, my first assignment after joining Chevron in 2000 was managing global climate change policy. I’m currently directing research in advanced energy alternatives. These assignments have given me ample opportunities to interact with people whose passion is protecting the environment. The more I engaged people in discussions on the environmental merits of the petroleum industry, the prouder I became of my chosen profession. Prior to shifting from conventional E&P assignments, I knew the standard defenses, which include describing the great care that we as an industry take to protect the environment, from the first stages of seismic exploration through development, production, and transportation. I could also describe the benefits of using natural gas instead of coal to generate electricity. How...