Dear AAPG Member,
AAPG members in Houston and other cities and towns along the Gulf Coast have endured a harrowing and disruptive experience over the past week. Our thoughts and concerns are with them and their neighbors as they continue to deal with the devastating and potentially life-changing impact of Hurricane Harvey.
As all AAPG members know, Houston is both an important location for the energy industry as well as an important part of the AAPG family. With 5,330 members, the Houston Geological Society is AAPG’s largest affiliated society – comprising 18 percent of our total membership. AAPG’s regional presence is even broader when adding the other areas impacted by the storm, with 7,267 members in the Gulf Coast Section. We all have colleagues and friends who are based there – often very good friends we’ve known for decades – and watching the images of the destruction caused by this storm has been horrifying.
For the people of this region the pain and suffering is real. As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said of what’s yet to come, “We need to recognize it will be a new normal – a new and different normal for this entire region.”
But Texas is resilient; Houston is resilient; and the Gulf coast is resilient. The process of recovery is already underway, and I encourage you to find ways to help and support the recovery of this region that is so vitally important to our industry and profession.
As a global community of petroleum geologists, AAPG stands with the people of Houston and the Gulf Coast.
Charles A. Sternbach
AAPG President 2017-18