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Letters
Topic: Industry is Not the Enemy
To the editor of GSA Today,
The evident need for the column by President Parrish in the June issue was a surprise and a disappointment to me. I’ve been one of the evil resource-extraction polluters for more than 50 years. If I ever encountered a fellow geoscientist who took offense at my occupation, I was too dumb to notice. It saddens me that such folks are out there.
The article offered several items in defense of industry people. That shouldn’t be necessary, but since it seems to be, I think it is worthwhile to point out two other factors: (1) no governmental or academic employee could possibly survive in this day and age without the benefits of extracted mineral or hydrocarbon resources; and (2) nor could these same people earn their living without benefit of industry. Their funding ultimately derives from taxes on tangible goods that have been created and sold by industry. The truth is, geoscientists in both resource and non-resource arenas need each other. So enough of this holier-than-thou business.
John T. (Ted) Schulenberg