Deborah Rogers,
Financial Analyst, Invited to Discuss Shale Gas Economics
By Joyce Hale
Messengers who bring news
that people do not want to hear are often brushed aside and ignored.
It took a child, who was not affected by peer pressure or ridicule to
declare “the Emperor has no clothes!” When Deborah Rogers first
reported her findings that the natural gas industry’s claims and
their real world production numbers did not jibe, the industry tried
to discredit her in an effort to draw attention away from what she
said. Since that time more data and more independent reports confirm
her early assumptions. Policy makers, financial advisers, and
investors should be aware of natural gas boom/bust possibilities
since resource extraction historically follows this pattern. The
industry’s marketing campaigns claim natural gas is an energy
bridge to a sustainable future. Ms. Rogers describes the economic
future she sees for unconventional gas and questions the predictions
of it being a hundred year supply.
Deborah Rogers is a
financial analyst and founder of the Energy Policy Forum. She was
appointed to the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
and serves on an advisory committee within the U.S. Department of
Interior. Her professional experiences in investment banking and Wall
Street have prepared her for evaluating business policy and financial
issues. Ms. Rogers lectures on shale gas economics throughout the
U.S. and abroad, at Universities, business venues and public forums.
She has been featured in articles discussing the financial anomalies
of shale gas in the New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, the
Village Voice and London’s Guardian.
Most people have heard
about the environmental problems of fracking but do not see this
directly impacting them. What is less understood are the financial
risks of natural gas investments and its potential to disrupt the
economy and delay moving to a more sustainable energy future.
A reception to welcome
Ms. Rogers will take place in the Pat Walker Senior Center on
Thursday, October 17 at 6:00 pm. The program will begin at 6:30 pm
in the auditorium. A Q&A will follow. Sponsors for this
activity are the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, Ozark Headwaters
Group of Sierra Club, OMNI Center, and Arkansas Interfaith Power and
Light. This program is open to the public at no charge.
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