It's well known that part of the opposition to fracking is lack of transparency and concern over the chemicals extractors pump into our land and aquifers. For some reason, citizens and researchers find it impossible to learn what is actually going on beneath the soils of their farms, schools and playgrounds.
So I found this video a bit ironic.
A huge portion of Anadarko Corp.'s profits derive from fracking. In November, 2011 an Anadarko public relations professional, Michael Carmichael, spoke at a conference and decided to share how much he valued the lessons he learned from United States military psy-ops manuals and training. Evidently, the tactics he learned turned out to be very valuable when applied to pacifying certain villages in the United States: the communities that think it might not be such a good idea to provide oil and gas corporations with unfettered reign to pump some ungodly number of gallons of carcinogenic industrial chemicals into the ground under their homes and neighborhoods.
The flack's advice turned out to be a bit of an embarrassment to Anadarko. According to their new public relations talking head, Anadarko has publicly addressed the controversy several times, and the statements made do not reflect Anadarko's core values and commitment to "open communication". At least, that's what he told me.
But how do we know, I wonder? I mean, what if he's lying? What if transparency is not a core value at Anadarko, but mouthing phrases like "We value open communication." comes straight out of a military psy-ops manual?
As it turns out, I may have serendipitously found an answer to the question. Once the flack finished his spiel about core values, etc., I asked if Mr. Carmichael's employment with Anadarko continued after the incident.
"Yes, that employee is still with the company, but in a different capacity"
I next asked, "What's he doing now?"
With a wry smile, the reply came... "Thank you."
Commitment to transparency? Open communication?
I wonder if Mr. Carmichael's new job involves training Anadarko's PR staff.