Embracing the Stuff of Life

Listening to?"A Change Is Gonna Come"?as I write prompted me to think about change. For some of us, change is not a comfortable thought because we focus on how change affects our sense of self, or we fixate on the potential loss of comfortable routines and familiar circumstances. For others, change is the stuff of life because it promises something new and exciting.

For AAPG, change is inevitable as we prepare to serve future generations of petroleum geologists and geoscientists in closely related fields like environmental geology, geothermal energy and the burgeoning hydrogen industry. Over the last couple of decades, AAPG – and especially the Division of Environmental Geosciences and the Energy Minerals Division – have welcomed colleagues who are working on CCUS, critical minerals and shale resources, along with members who are helping us to apply data science techniques effectively to geological data and pursue resources in a safe and responsible manner.?

Change is good, and even if we don’t really enjoy change, it is inevitable in our rapidly evolving energy sector!

Our New IMAGE

The Joint Events Team of AAPG and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists worked at an extraordinary pace to prepare for the inaugural International Meeting for Applied Geoscience and Energy in Denver last month. Staff and volunteers dealt with constant change in the weeks leading up to the conference as they integrated the annual conferences of AAPG, SEG and SEPM as a hybrid meeting held online and in-person – three great annual meetings under one roof. I am extremely grateful for their work.

IMAGE represents a deliberate strategic step by AAPG toward enhanced collaboration with our sister societies. In developing the five-year agreement with SEG, we built in consistent timing and – starting in 2022 – a consistent location in Houston so that participants know what to expect ahead of time. For AAPG folks, IMAGE is a slightly longer event with a much richer, multidisciplinary technical program and more auxiliary activities. Expanded networking opportunities during this larger event provide greater value and better opportunities for exhibitors to engage with participants.

As soon as carpet is rolled up in the exhibition hall, we will begin work on IMAGE 2022. Your feedback about IMAGE 2021 will be welcome as we strive for more seamless integration. This is a great time to volunteer for the conference committee if you are willing to help.

Rocktober and Earth Science Week

Geoscientists have a lot to celebrate this month. Our friends in Germany are celebrating Oktoberfest. Some radio stations rename the month “Rocktober” as they play classic rock and heavy metal music. AAPG, as a member society of the American Geosciences Institute, is a sponsor of Earth Science Week, which we celebrate Oct. 10-16. Earth Science Week 2021 includes Minerals Day on Monday and National Fossil Day on Wednesday, along with lots of terrific activities to help the public better understand and appreciate the Earth Sciences and encourage stewardship of the Earth. For me, every day is Earth Day and every week is Earth Science Week. Let’s make it so to the general public!

As we near the end of summer in the northern hemisphere, many of us are enjoying autumn colors and pumpkin spice everything – seasonal changes that provide comfort – while those of us closer to the equator are experiencing the height of hurricane season. Our hearts are broken for those suffering the aftereffects of hurricanes Ida and Nicholas in the United States. With our friends from SEG, AAPG has donated to support hurricane relief operations of the Red Cross.

We are also sad and frustrated about the limitations on travel by our friends and colleagues from around the world as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

As October leads to November and the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, observing change causes me to be grateful for what I have – family and friends who support me, employment that challenges me and a volunteer role that constantly pushes me to do my best for the stakeholders of AAPG. I hope that there will be better days ahead for people who are suffering: a change is gonna come.

In the short term, you can support AAPG by logging into?AAPG.org, updating your profile, paying your dues, registering for a conference or buying a book, and recruiting new members. Contact me if you would like to volunteer!

Gretchen Gillis