AED’s Mack Highlights Opportunities, Threats to America’s Energy Future in APCA Keynote

In remarks at the American Pipeline Contractors Association (APCA) midyear meeting in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14, AED President and CEO Toby Mack issued a call to arms for the energy sector to engage politically to help secure America’s energy future. 
 

“Energy independence is not only a revolutionary new reality – it is a certainty, but only if the industry isn’t prevented by regulatory policy from developing our vast reserves of oil and gas. But right now, that’s a big ‘if’,” Mack said in his keynote address. 
 

“Thanks to the ingenuity, inventiveness, and initiative of American industry, we have created our own ‘inconvenient truth’ – which is that we now have accessible fossil fuel reserves on this continent to power our nation competitively and economically as far as the eye can see.  But unbelievably, our newest ‘inconvenient truth’ is a mortal threat to those in government and in the public who are fighting a war on fossil fuels and carbon,” Mack said.
 

Mack urged APCA members not to be complacent. He said they could help secure America’s energy future by helping to affect the outcome of the November elections.  Among other things, he suggested that industry leaders should educate their employees about the real world-impact of policy differences between candidates and support the election of lawmakers who understand energy issues.
 

Mack’s role in the APCA meeting is reflective of AED’s stepped-up profile on energy issues. Over the course of the past Congress, AED has led efforts to educate the public about the economic benefits of shale energy development, pass legislation to beat back the Environmental Protection Agency’s assault on coal mining, and pressure the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline permit. 
 

More on AED’s position on energy issues is at http://www.aednet.org/government/pdf-2012/one-pagers/energy.pdf.