Dr. Thom Davis - Director of Geologic Maps Foundation, Inc., & owner of Thomas L. Davis PhD Geologist :
Thomas L. Davis1 and Amila Sandaruwan Ratnayake 2
Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis is in remission. Challenges still confront the government and population, from a substantial national debt to affording imported energy. Sri Lanka is not alone, many nations, economically developed and developing, have unsustainable debt levels and energy insecurity (uncertainty in availability and affordability). Offshore, Sri Lanka has undeveloped natural gas fields and potential for additional discoveries. Development of the gas fields, returning exploration, and moving the energy away from coal- and oil-based is economically viable and desirable, assuming responsible development. Key benefits include alleviating its debt, providing a secure, inexpensive, and reliable energy source for decades, and reducing its CO2 emissions in a manner that does not economically deprive its population. Many will argue that Sri Lanka should not develop its fossil fuel resources because of climate change concerns. However, moving from its present oil and coal dominance to natural gas would reduce its emissions by about one-third. Events show that nations with much larger CO2 emissions will place their energy security above climate change concerns if their economy and social well-being are threatened. With investment, development, and exploration, Sri Lanka has the resources to avoid energy insecurity, while lowering its debt and CO2 emissions.
1, Thomas L. Davis, PhD, California Professional Geologist #4171, Ventura, California, USA, email: tldavisgeo@gmail.com, www.thomasldavisgeologist.com
2, Prof. Amila Sandaruwan Ratnayake, Ph.D. (Shimane University, Japan) Professor in Geology, Department of Applied Earth Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Uva Wellassa University, Sri Lanka, email:as_ratnayake@uwu.ac.lk
www.uwu.ac.lk
Thomas L. Davis, PhD is a California State Professional Geologist, founder and director of the nonprofit Geologic Maps Foundation, Inc., owner of Thomas L. Davis PhD Geologist, researcher, geologic map maker, and author of geologic publications. Davis’ work and research interests are in energy supply, structural geology, mapping, oil & gas exploration, development of existing fields, natural gas storage fields, and active faulting and earthquakes. Davis has worked in the oil & gas sectors in California and Nevada, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico. Davis earned a BS in Geology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1976 and a PhD in Geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1983.
In 1986 Thom was co-winner of Atlantic-Richfield’s (ARCO) annual outstanding technical achievement award for research on applying a fold and thrust belt structural style to oil & gas exploration in California’s petroleum basins. In 1987 Davis proposed that the northern margin of the Los Angeles basin and Los Angeles metro area was underlain by a series of blind and active thrust faults. One of the faults of the system moved later in 1987 producing the Whittier Narrow earthquake. The system was named the Elysian Park thrust system and mapped from the Puente Hills to the northern Channel Islands (Davis et al., 1989; Davis and Namson, 1994; Davis et al, 1996).
