Newsletter

Spring 2002

Bringing Faith to the Energy Discussion
By Dennis Corkran

I have a moral dilemma. I'm one of the "bad guys" - at least that's what I've been told. I make my living in the oil and gas industry.

I believe that I provide a needed service to the community, kind of like the garbage man. No one wants to invite the garbage man to dinner. But when he doesn't pick up the garbage, everyone realizes how important he is to society. The garbage man and I are trying to make a living doing what we are trained to do.

I'm a mechanical engineer by degree, a petroleum engineer by 23 years of practice. As a mechanical engineering major, I wrote a senior term paper titled "Solar Energy in the Housing Industry: When Will It Be Economically Feasible?" (My naive prediction came and went several years ago.)

When I graduated from college, there were no jobs in the solar or wind energy industries - collectively known as "renewable energy." But there were plenty of jobs in the petroleum industry. So for 23 years I've worked in the exploration and production end of the oil and gas business.

I now own interest in producing oil and gas wells, have my own oil and gas company, and participate in the drilling of oil and gas wells. But I'm increasingly, uncomfortably aware that my religious beliefs are in direct conflict with my trade.

I believe that God made the heavens and the earth, and put man on the Earth to be a good steward of his creation. Burning hydrocarbon-based fuels to provide energy for God's people is causing great destruction of God's planet. It's increasingly clear that we're largely responsible for global climate changes that could cause untold suffering to God's children and the rest of creation.

But as long as my colleagues and I do a good job extracting oil and gas, we keep the price of hydrocarbon-based energy low enough to prevent renewable energy from being economical to develop. U.S. government policies that keep hydrocarbon-based fuel supplies cheap and abundant further help to shut out renewables.

I would love to make my living providing renewable energy instead of hydrocarbon-based energy. So how can I make the switch and still make ends meet? I need to re-educate myself in a new industry, and government incentives and penalties need to be structured to make renewable energy the smart investment instead of just the feel-good choice.

Most folks won't pay extra for renewable energy based on their ethical and moral convictions, any more than I will forfeit my livelihood for mine. We need laws that penalize the pollution of God's environment and reward development of renewable energy.
What can you and I do to reduce the use of hydrocarbon-based fuels and speed up the conversion to renewables? First, we can make simple changes in our everyday lives. Switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs and insulating water heaters are easy ways to save energy (and money). In Austin, we're lucky to be able to choose renewable energy for our homes and businesses through Austin Energy's GreenChoice program.

Second, we can work for public policies that encourage a systemwide change to renewables. As part of the CoolTexas Interfaith Campaign, I'm encouraging the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission to develop a state plan to reduce Texas' greenhouse gas emissions through conservation and converting to renewable energy.

There are other people out there in the petroleum industry like me, who have faith and are concerned about God's environment. But even if you don't share my particular religious beliefs, you should consider becoming involved based on what is happening to your environment.

If we unite and affect a change in our laws, maybe I will be able to make a living providing renewable energy. I really would like to be considered a "good guy" for a change. How about you?

Dennis Corkran is owner of Corkran Energy, an oil and gas exploration and production company. He is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Austin.

Reprinted by permission of the author.

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