• President’s Evening Review
• BGS Core Store
• BSRG Report
• Aberdeen Christmas Party Review
• Qatar Geological Society
• North Sea Course 2009 Review
• Copenhagen Conundrums
• PESGB Young Professionals
• PROSPEX Review

Plus much more inside

President’s Page- Henry Allen

PESGB seems to me to be quite an unusual entity not least because it doesn’t sit neatly in any particular boxes. It’s not a formal professional or scientific institution, it’s not a representation or lobbying group and it’s certainly not a private members’ club. One analogy I can think of is the way somebody once described a local Round Table to me; “……we’re just a bunch of blokes who want to enjoy being together and do something useful at the same time…..”. OK, the “blokes” bit is out, so what’s the unisex equivalent?
It’s no surprise that PESGB doesn’t sit in a box. Geoscientists generally don’t do boxes: they tend to be particularly creative scientists and drive engineers and economists mad with their imprecise view of life. As one project engineer said to a geo friend of mine after a bit of that self-analysis stuff they do on team building courses, “…..now I understand you lot [a bit] ….I
honestly used to think you did it all deliberately to wind us up!” But at the risk of sounding ridiculously elitist, geoscientists are in a good position to see our world in true perspective. We generally have science backgrounds and are trained in the powers of simple observation and deduction to work out with our own eyes how this planet developed amidst a daunting universe and how its biosphere evolved. Besides that we tend to use our imaginations a lot. That creativity is fundamental to our success in business, be it understanding ancient environments, generating exploration prospects, conjuring up new business ideas, or launching a new company.
But PESGB also has its own share of tradition and folklore, so is it actually making a box for itself? Let’s make sure not. Let’s picture a future where the energy scene is very different from the one we have today and where attitudes and behaviours show complete awareness and responsibility for the need to be sustainable, nurturing the finite resources that we play our part in exploiting, and in mitigating the effects of short-circuiting the Earth’s carbon cycle. Where is PESGB’s future in all this? It will undoubtedly need to evolve and a key factor influencing that will be our changing membership demography. Before some of us fogies start getting in the way, we need to be bringing more of the new generation into the limelight and encouraging them to play their part in the Society’s future.
As a first step to this I am very pleased to announce the formation of a new Youth Section Special Interest Group and the co-option onto the 2010 Council of James Thompson of BP and Jessica Hill of Centrica to share a joint position. Please see their article on pages 78-79, in this Newsletter and give them your support.
Here’s to a great future.