Frequently Asked Questions

What is PTF?

We are a national organization that was created to promote and protect the men and women working in America’s energy space whose jobs, communities and quality of life are threatened by well-funded, misleading, and politically motivated efforts. Through our research and online/media work, we want to call out facts about the energy industry, its champions, its risks, and also its detractors.

What do you?

We share information on energy. We conduct research and look at studies, reports, investigations, etc. about the energy space, the people who work in it, and the communities that depend on it. And we project into the future. What will happen if…? What’s the result of…? There is a missing voice in the national conversation on energy.

Where are you based?

We are based across the river from Washington, DC in Arlington, Virginia where rent is cheaper.

Why so close to the Nation’s Capital?

We want to be part of the national conversation on energy. However, our efforts are local. We are in local communities where the great men and women who work difficult jobs provide the lifeblood that powers our nation.

Do you lobby?

No, we’re not a lobbying shop. We aren’t advocating for specific legislation or promoting energy policy. But we do want to talk to everyone and anyone about these issues, and make sure the whole truth of every energy conversation is shared in the halls of Congress, in the White House, and above all, in the media.

Who funds you?

You can, if you want to, donate here. Our funding is from private citizens, not corporations or business, who care about the men and women who work in the energy space, and the constant threat their jobs, their very livelihoods are under from people who have an agenda and seemingly unlimited funding.

You say “energy” so you mean oil, gas, coal… What about renewables? Green energy?

Let a thousand blossoms bloom! We support ALL energy forms. In fact, the rise of renewables has pushed other energy industries to become more efficient and cost effective for consumers, so more diversified energy is a net good for the country. And if we saw a nationally orchestrated political effort to shut down a thriving green energy plant resulting in mass layoffs and ruined communities, we would stand up to protect them. We aren’t advocating for any one form of energy, or for any energy company. We are advocating for the energy sector writ large as we all benefit from abundant, cheap energy. Shutting down energy production in rural America is touted as some ideological “win” when, in reality, it is a huge loss for that community locally and America nationally.

Are you opposed to green and alternative energy?

Not at all. Technology is amazing, and in time we are certain new and exciting methods of fulfilling our energy needs will be discovered. But, in the meantime, we are in need of reliable, cheap, abundant energy, and we think we need all forms to thrive.

Why were you started?

Because men and women across the nation are losing their jobs because well-funded activists, normally not even from the areas where they engage, are succeeding in shut down energy development. This ravages small communities, and we know what the consequences of depressed communities: chronic unemployment, familial displacement, increases in poverty, crime, and opioid use, etc. Less energy production means more expensive everything, not just gas, but food, goods, clothes, housing. And a group of patriotic, fed-up Americans got together and said enough is enough. Billionaire ideologues are spending millions to shut down industry, ruin small towns, force hard working men and women to lose their jobs, and no one points out their hypocrisy or the consequence of their actions.

What motivates you?

America motivates us: the great people of this country and the quality of life that sometimes is taken for granted. We are the most advanced society in the history of mankind with the greatest abundance of food, the highest quality of life, the most advanced medicine and healthcare. All of this is made possible because of cheap, reliable, abundant energy. And the more of it we find here in our own country, the more we can remove ourselves from international conflicts. People protest energy for multiple reasons, and that’s part of freedom. We recognize their right to voice their opinion. But if any one of those protesters has tapped away on a smartphone, eaten avocados from South America, worn a scarf from the Middle East, ridden a bicycle made of carbon fiber, bought a bottle of water, turned on the heat or air conditioning, called a rideshare (and we can go ad infinitem…) it is because of energy. Unless protesters travel by fairy dust and made their placards from grass and berries, they should be saying “thank you” to these men and women who work in the energy space, and not threating their jobs and their communities. We will point out their convenient hypocrisy.

What about the earth? Pollution? Climate change? The environmental impact of energy production?

We live here, too. The men and women who work in the energy space often live in those same areas. It’s their community, their environment. We all want (and need!) clean air and clean water. Every industry, energy or otherwise, must responsible to care for the community, and must be held accountable if their negligence causes harm. But this is not a binary choice: we can have both. And as we stated earlier, we believe advances in technology will find a truly perfect energy solution, and scientists all around the world are working tirelessly to find it. But let us not forget they are doing this work because of the cheap, abundant, reliable energy harnessed right now. Scientists are powering their labs, driving to work, feeding their bodies, etc. because we have men and women working in the energy space. Hurt the energy industry and you hurt the green advances, too. That’s another disastrous consequence of this misinformed activism.