Letter to the Editor: Energy industry can advance alongside new technologies

Published 8:10 am Saturday, March 26, 2022

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Dear Editor,

For as long as I can remember, the energy industry has been providing Louisianans like myself with good-paying jobs that afford us the ability to put food on the table and a roof over the head for their families. The energy industry has also pioneered some of the most advanced technology in support of a smart energy transition – one that doesn’t discount the importance of domestic production.

While some are advocating to do away with natural resources such as oil and gas completely, we should be harnessing the technology that the industry has advanced in recent years that allows us to continue to utilize these resources alongside new energy technologies. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of those technologies!

It’s encouraging to see legislation such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill recognize CCS as a viable and efficient technology that can support in reducing the carbon emissions for industrial and manufacturing processes within our state and around the world.

Whether it’s the natural gas needed to make our crawfish boils possible or the millions of jobs the industry supports, it’s hard to ignore the positive economic and social benefits the energy industry continues to provide. And CCS ensures that we can do so, while still advancing climate goals.

As we work to reinvent what the future of energy may look like, we need to make sure we are doing our due diligence and developing a strategy that advocates for energy sources of all types. It’s the only way we can keep our world moving forward.

 

Sincerely,

Quin Bates