May 2013 - Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

RMAG Monthly Luncheon Program – May 8 thAbstract: Oil Spills, Ethics, and Society:How They Intersect and Where theResponsibilities ResideBy W.C. "Rusty" RieseIncreasing global demand for energy has forcedsocieties the world over to look for and use ever morediverse and expensive forms of energy to fuel theireconomies. Oil is a key part of this energy supply,particularly in the arena of transportation fuels. Thecorporations that supply energy have been pressed intoincreasingly challenging environments to meet publicand governmental demands for inexpensive energy.Unfortunately, as we are reminded by the Gulf of MexicoDeepwater Horizon incident, accidents can happen,the environment can be damaged, and people can losetheir lives when we operate at the leading edges oftechnology.When accidents occur, our responses typically tend toblame individuals, corporations, or regulators, rather thanthe public whose demand for cheap, readily availableenergy forces exploration in new, more challengingfrontiers. Public opinions on this subject are shaped bya combination of self-education, fulminating politicians,and aggressive, sensationalist journalists. Exploringmore than societal interests at a national level puts ourpursuit of inexpensive energy into context. This contextpits the competing interests of developing countries,which demand ever increasing shares of the world'sresources, against broader, trans-national interestsgroups which are worried that continued dependenceon energy-dense fossil fuels may cause runaway globalwarming and climate changes that may in turn destroythe earth's ecosystems.Ultimate responsibilities for oil spills lie within thismix of competing demands and expectations – a mix farmore complicated than most people are aware of or arewilling to consider. All of us who consume energy have anethical obligation to educate ourselves, and those aroundus, on the consequences of our demands for energy andfor the environment.BiographyDr. W.C. “Rusty” Riese is a geoscientist based inHouston, Texas. He is widely experienced having worked inboth minerals and petroleum as a geologist, geochemist,and manager during more than 39 years in industry. Heparticipated in the National Petroleum Council evaluationof natural gas supply and demand for North America whichwas conducted at the request of the Secretary of Energyand in the more recent analysis of global supply anddemand requested by the same agency. He is currentlya member of the American Association of PetroleumGeologists Committee on Resource Evaluations, and amember of the House of Delegates.Rusty has written extensively and lectured on varioustopics in economic geology including biogeochemistry,isotope geochemistry, uranium ore deposits, sequencestratigraphy, and coalbed methane petroleum systems;and he holds numerous domestic and internationalpatents. He has more than thirty years of teachingexperience including twenty five years at Rice Universitywhere he developed the curricula in petroleum geologyand industry risk and economic evaluation. He is currentlyan Adjunct Professor at Rice University, the Colorado StateUniversity, and the University of New Mexico, where hesits on the Caswell Silver Endowment advisory board.He is a fellow in the Geological Society of America andthe Society of Economic Geologists; and a member ofthe American Association of Petroleum Geologists andseveral other professional organizations.He earned his PhD from the University of New Mexicoin 1980; his M.S. in geology from the same universityin 1977; and his B.S. in geology from the New MexicoInstitute of Mining and Technology in 1973. He is aCertified Professional Geologist, a Certified PetroleumGeologist, and is a Licensed and Registered Geologist inthe states of Texas and South Carolina respectively.»Vol. 62, No. 5 32May 2013