Colorado Oil and Gas Association- Red Tie, Green Heels - by Tisha Conoly Schuller

Beware the Blame Game

2012-04-30T21:52:55+00:00

In my formative years, it was popular to blame "the man" for nearly everything. Self-righteous and gratifying, you could blame The Man for all of ones woes. As my career progressed, at some point I found myself a low-level manager, a "team leader", tasked with explaining corporate (The Man) strategies to my team members. Uncomfortable and apologetic, I hesitantly relayed corporate policies to my team members with low levels of inspirational success. Later I rose to an esteemed…

Talk Amongst (Y)ourselves at (Y)our Own Peril

2012-03-26T15:22:28+00:00

The disconnect between my worlds has evolved from a short circuit to a cavernous divide. Since starting work in environmental consulting almost two decades ago, I have been able to navigate both environmental and industry conversations with some understanding and ease. As the gulf over hydraulic fracturing grows, I often find myself for a loss of words in any crowd. For this I credit one human failing: we like to talk to people with viewpoints similar to our own. It’s comforting…

Is Hydraulic Fracturing Making Sane People Crazy?

2012-02-07T19:12:07+00:00

My last refuge of personal time disappeared this week. Most mornings I get up early. Really early. 4:30 early, so I can drive down the mountain to my gym and work out before I commute to Denver. It’s the kind of schedule that makes grown men shudder, but I do it because I like to have that Me Time. If you have small children and a pressing, extroverted job, you know how important Me Time is (and you probably skip a…

Turn the Frack Off: An Appeal to Thoughtful Activists

2012-01-23T17:01:57+00:00

There are two words this season that will guarantee a newspaper traffic on its headlines: Tebow and Fracking. Fortunately, no one has attempted an all-inclusive double header. This week I sat in an academic forum where everyone agreed that the language we use in the conversation about responsible energy production matters. We emphasized the importance of a respectful, empathetic dialogue. And yet, there was a wide disconnect. The oil and gas industry uses the term hydraulic fracturing…

Every Colorado Operator Has a Stake in the Success of COGA’s Baseline Water Program

2012-01-16T16:30:12+00:00

As I travel from public meeting to public meeting across eastern Colorado, the number one concern I hear from the public is protection of our groundwater. Colorado operators are confident in our best management practices and operations that protect groundwater, but the public wants that protection demonstrated. And so, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) has developed an industry-led voluntary baseline groundwater quality sampling program to exhibit that drilling operations are safe and do…

Why Public Meetings Make Me Nervous

2012-01-03T21:50:14+00:00

Right before the holidays I had a second occasion to speak in Longmont and several of my peers were there. I stood up to give my three minute public-invited-to-speak talk, and was embarrassed to find my heart racing and voice shaking. I speak publicly all the time, and very rarely get nervous anymore. So this was cause for reflection. I took this COGA job two years ago because I really thought that as an environmental scientist with extensive…

What I Learned Last Week: The Disclosure Rulemaking

2011-12-20T20:50:54+00:00

The hydraulic fracturing disclosure rulemaking by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) grabbed headlines nationwide for a good 24 hours. While many of you likely quickly moved on to other topics, I learned some enduring lessons. The rule was unanimously approved by the COGCC; this outcome was highly unlikely just one week earlier. Parties to the rulemaking that represented industry, environmentalists, and local governments presented more than a full day’s testimony. Members of the public…

Myth: Oil & Gas Development Will Dry Up Colorado’s Water

2011-12-06T18:11:34+00:00

Water is critical to all of us in Colorado. With abundant competing uses, there is no doubt that contemplating our water’s future use is vital. Oil and gas development does use a lot of water, but it is quite small in the context of other water uses in Colorado. At a very conservative calculation of all water used in oil and gas drilling at a maximum 2012 build out, we would use 0.13% of all the water…

Longmont Last Week: Rated PG

2011-11-22T16:37:39+00:00

I considered bringing one of my children to the public meeting I was asked to speak at last week. Longmont City Council had thoughtfully planned an educational forum on oil and gas drilling because they have some decisions coming up over the next couple of months, and wanted to gather information to learn more and educate themselves. The plan for the forum was to have several speakers cover different elements of oil and gas drilling, just 10 minutes each;…

Are We Listening? Industry Messaging Must Change Dramatically

2011-11-08T18:12:26+00:00

The oil and gas industry has been collectively stunned by the rash of public anti-industry, anti-drilling fervor which has taken on a head of steam in the last six months. We have engaged boldly and proactively, but the train has gotten away. Our efforts are failing. We are collectively biting our finger nails. We have comforted ourselves by claiming that “environmental extremists make their living by criticizing and delaying drilling.” And some are! There is a wide array of anti-drilling proponents,…