As first reported by The Colorado Observer, radical fractivist Cliff Willmeng, that guy who is giving the middle finger in the picture we keep posting, is more than just a fractivist – he’s also a criminal.
“A radical environmental campaigner with an extensive arrest record dating back to the 1990’s is behind a far-reaching plan to let local governments ban hydraulic fracturing – or any other ‘corporate project’ – within their borders.
The proposal is the brainchild of Cliff Willmeng, whose lengthy criminal record includes arrests for harassment, trespassing, obstructing police and resisting arrest; and whose public statements have often echoed those of the militant, left-wing “Occupy” movement.”
Willmeng is the force behind the fracking bans throughout Colorado. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations record, he was arrested in 1994 as well as in August of 2012. The charges from those two incidents included disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction of police, harassment, and trespassing. In the case of August 2012, he plead guilty to trespassing.
So, the Colorado Democratic legislature is so cowardly that they convince a convicted criminal to be the face of a ballot initiative (stood up by fractivists in PA) to outright ban fracking instead of taking the reputational hit by either banning it or over-regulating it via the legislature? Ducking for cover on this important issue for Colorado? It would appear they’re learning from their wise leader, liberal Governor John Hickenlooper.
Energy Citizen is an astroturfing front group, funded by the American Petroleum Institute, whose purpose is to fight and slow down legislation related to climate change and to attempt to influence public opinion to favor the massive oil and gas industry. Take anything they say with a grain of salt, and wash it down with a swallow of benzene and gallon of crude oil.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Citizens
Regardless of the myths anti-fracking activists continue to propagate, the facts confirm that hydraulic fracturing is a safe, scientific technique crucial to energy development. Already underway for decades in Colorado, hydraulic fracturing is responsible for 111,000 jobs, produces $598 billion in associated labor income, and contributes $29 billion to Colorado’s economy each year. What’s more, if our nation wants to achieve freedom from foreign oil by as early as 2024, hydraulic fracturing must continue unabated.
What has the more than 60-year history of hydraulic fracturing across our nation proved? That this form of energy development can be done responsibly, while protecting the environment, and reap significant returns from an abundant domestic supply of natural gas to economic gains for local communities.
-Renee, Energy Citizens Coordinator