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)

“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.

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

“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.”

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SEO: Fossil Free UMd petitions ExxonMobil lecturePeaceful protest provides alternate views

By Nora Strumpf

After much anticipation, student environmentalists peacefully protested

ExxonMobil on Friday, Oct. 11.

Fossil Free UMd met an hour before the lecture “About Natural Gas and

Hydraulic Fracturing” at the Food Cooperative to make signs, banners, and t-shirts in an

attempt to prove their distaste of the gas giant’s practices.

The club sent 250 Facebook event invitations that asked people to join the

demonstration. The invitation stated that, “not only

does fracking harm the planet by destroying water

ways, poisoning wildlife, and emitting methane into

our atmosphere, it also hurts public health and the

economy!” It also advised the audience to come

prepared with hard-hitting questions to “make sure that the truth is told,” and that a

petition to end fracking in Maryland would be available following the lecture.

Ori Gutin, Student Government Association sustainability director, spearheaded

the protest. He said that he "wanted to ask someone from the industry […] and perhaps

get more insight into why they so adamantly believe in natural gas as the energy source

of the future.”

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SEO: ExxonMobil representative to discuss natural gasRhonda Pope will examine benefits of energy source

“I wanted to […] get more insight into why

they so adamantly believe in natural gas

as the energy source of the future.” - Ori Gutin

ExxonMobil representative Rhonda Pope will discuss the benefits of natural gas

as part of the Transforming Energy Lecture Series, sponsored by the University of

Maryland Energy Research Center.

Pope, the U.S. Black Oil Optimizer for ExxonMobil will discuss natural gas as a

cleaner alternative to coal and oil.

The lecture begins at 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct.11, in Rm. 2110 in the Chemical and

Nuclear Engineering building. For more information, contact Annette Mateus at (301)

405-4799 or at amateus@umd.edu.

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