Vancouver, B.C. — Energy experts gathered here today for the North American Energy Security Dialogues said energy producers need to do more to earn the public’s trust before they move ahead with new projects.
“Regular people don’t work inside the industry and what they see scares them,” said Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman who stressed improving the public’s understanding would reduce anxiety. “Don’t assume people understand your acronyms.”
Dialogues host Randy Kerr of the Canadian Natural Resource Alliance referred to the “new normal” of energy projects facing opposition from organized environmental activists, a topic which was discussed at the first Energy Security Dialogues at the Embassy of Canada in Washington D.C. (Link). Panelists agreed unfettered facts are key to defusing the politicization of energy politics.
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“People want to know what is going on,” says Matt Koch from The U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “People in Pennsylvania want to hear what is going on in North Dakota. The more we talk the more we fill the gap of knowledge,” which exists among the public.
Read the full article at The Energy Voice.