Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Michael Moore and Dolly Anderson
Released: March 16, 2016
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
Let’s go to the Norwegian Consulate in Houston, Texas where a special ceremony is being held to recognize a royal award recipient. His Majesty King Harald of Norway has awarded the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit: Knight, to a man named Michael Moore. Michael has played a key role in developing a market response to climate change and carbon sequestration, and he comes from rural Kansas.
Michael Moore is the person who received this award. His mother Dolly shared this remarkable story.
Dolly and her previous husband had two children, son Michael and daughter Kelly. In 1969, Dolly married Dusty Anderson and moved the family to the rural community of Skiddy in Morris County. Dolly Anderson became a realtor and continues to own and manage G & A Real Estate in Manhattan. Dolly still lives on this land that was homesteaded by Dusty’s great-great-grandfather in 1873.
Dolly described her son Michael as full of adventure. His energy and curiosity would serve him well through the years, but it kept his mother hopping when he was little. He went to White City schools.
“One instructor took Michael under his wing and gave him extra projects to do in school to keep him busy,” Dolly said. “I credit Mr. Baldwin with helping Michael get through school.” Michael went to K-State and then took a break from college to work for a local RV company.
“Part of his job was to deliver the RVs to various dealers,” Dolly said. “He always volunteered for the longest delivery route so he could see the country.” His curiosity and desire to broaden his horizons would serve him well.
Dolly had a brother in New Jersey who invited Michael to come back east. Michael did so and got a job in freight forwarding. He became a commodities trader and was recruited into the energy industry where he blossomed.
Michael worked his way up through the ranks in the energy business. He became a founding partner and officer in four different entities. He also made a decision: He wanted to take care of unfinished business from college. Even as his career advanced, he found the time to take online classes through K-State’s Global Campus and finish his degree.
Michael served in various positions before becoming vice president of energy commodities and advisory services for FearnOil Inc., a Houston-based division of a firm based in Oslo, Norway. Michael and his wife live near Houston.
A key part of his work is related to climate change, greenhouse gases, and carbon capture in the environment. In 2008, he also became executive director of the North American Carbon Capture & Storage Association, a non-profit organization of North American companies that support the development of sustainable carbon dioxide capture, use, and storage. Such technology can be used for energy recovery and to manage emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the key greenhouse gases. As executive director of this association, he works with the U.S. Department of Energy and other Washington, D.C. groups on energy security and related issues.
Michael Moore has become an international leader on these complex issues of energy, climate change, carbon use and storage, and more. In recognition of his leadership and his efforts to promote industry and trade relations between Norway and the United States, the government of Norway chose to confer this distinguished honor upon him.
On Dec. 16, 2015, he received his award at the Norwegian consulate in Houston. The award includes a beautiful medal mounted on a colorful ribbon, plus a lapel pin. The award is officially called the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, conferred by His Majesty King Harald of Norway.
That is quite an honor for someone who grew up at the rural community of Skiddy, Kansas, an unincorporated village with a population of perhaps 20 people. Now, that’s rural.
It’s time to say goodbye to Houston, where a young man from rural Kansas received this international honor. We salute Dolly Anderson for raising this family and Michael Moore himself for making a difference with his leadership in the energy industry. His enterprise looks like a royal success.
The mission of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development is to enhance rural development by helping rural people help themselves. The Kansas Profile radio series and columns are produced with assistance from the K-State Research and Extension News Media Services Unit. A photo of Ron Wilson is available. Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are also available. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development.
K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.
Story by:
Ron J. Wilson
rwilson@ksu.edu
K-State Research & Extension News
The Huck Boyd Institute is at 785-532-7690 or rwilson@ksu.edu
