+ All Categories
Home > Documents > Exxon Hard News

Exxon Hard News

Date post: 29-Dec-2015
Category:
Upload: andrea-adams
View: 24 times
Download: 0 times
Share this document with a friend
Popular Tags:
4
SEO: ExxonMobil rep discusses benefits of natural gas Lecture transforms into heated debate Rhonda Pope faces resilience from staunch environmentalists By Nora Strumpf Exxon representative Rhonda Pope intended to inform a captive audience about the benefits of natural gas as part of her “About Natural Gas and Hydraulic Fracturing” lecture on Oct. 11, but spectators were not convinced. Pope introduced her role at Exxon as the Mid-Continent Crude Optimizer. She noted that natural gas heats more than half of the homes in the United States, and that it accounts for 25% of our energy. She provided projections for the next thirty years of gas use, and confidently stated that the supply of natural gas will exceed coal. The first skeptic touted the audience’s intentions. “Does Exxon Mobil consider the effects on the environment when it develops these models?” asked Shane James, a member of
Transcript

SEO: ExxonMobil rep discusses benefits of natural gasLecture transforms into heated debateRhonda Pope faces resilience from staunch environmentalistsBy Nora Strumpf

Exxon representative Rhonda Pope intended to inform a captive audience about

the benefits of natural gas as part of her “About Natural Gas and Hydraulic Fracturing”

lecture on Oct. 11, but spectators were not convinced.

Pope introduced her role at Exxon as the Mid-Continent Crude Optimizer. She

noted that natural gas heats more than half of the homes in the United States, and that it

accounts for 25% of our energy. She provided projections for the next thirty years of gas

use, and confidently stated that the supply of natural gas will exceed coal. The first

skeptic touted the audience’s intentions.

“Does Exxon Mobil consider the effects on

the environment when it develops these models?”

asked Shane James, a member of Fossil Free UMd,

who handed out anti-fracking flyers before the

lecture’s start.

“Absolutely,” Pope replied. “One of Exxon

Mobile’s core values is to be environmentally

responsible with our energy supply.” Her response

was the catalyst for the crucifixion that followed.

Another student criticized that Exxon

invests too much capital in gas when cleaner alternatives are available.

(more)

Rhonda Pope presents an infographic titled “The global energy mix continues to evolve.” Photo by Nora Strumpf

“The demand is in gas,” Pope said, as she seemed to calculate her response to

dilute the tension in the room. “These other alternative energies [such as solar] have

potential, but they’re not necessarily in a position where supply can meet demand for the

next thirty years.”

Temperature rises

The questions got more intense.

“Is Exxon assuming a carbon tax?”

“How much consideration to biodiversity has Exxon considered?”

“How much deliberation was done with indigenous people of the Chesapeake?”

Pope gave vague answers to each, providing ambiguous statements rather than

qualitative facts.

Noticing how much time had slipped away, Pope continued discussing the

abundance of natural gas, job opportunities and versatility. She later explained hydraulic

fracturing (fracking), the process of drilling into the earth to extract natural gas. The

Student Government Association sustainability director, Ori Gutin, provided Pope the

statistic that “in 2010, 6.2 percent of new gas wells leaked,” but she was unable to

provide a retort.

(more)

“I know that this is a passionate subject,” Pope concluded. “I can absolutely relate

to your concerns and want to be as helpful and give as much information as I can.”

As the last audience member walked out of the classroom, Pope turned to her

colleague and said, “well, I wasn’t expecting that.”

###


Recommended