FrackingA radical anti-energy group in Boulder has withdrawn eight ballot initiatives of the eleven (that’s right- eleven) proposals that they submitted to the Colorado Secretary of State’s office just a few months ago.

Coloradans Resisting Extreme Energy Development (CREED) tried to cause a kerfuffle in December when they submitted eleven ridiculous ballot initiatives. These included measures to outright ban fracking in the entire state, to seize of mineral rights from their owners without compensation, and to drastically increase well setbacks up to a whopping 4,000 feet.

No word yet as to why eight of the proposals were withdrawn – though common sense might tell us that those measures never stood a chance to pass anyway.

Of the remaining three proposals, the one that takes the cake for laughable ideas is Initiative 63, which would enact an “Environmental Bill of Rights”. That’s right – hippy fracktivists in Boulder are now telling us that animals, plants, and insentient objects such as dirt and rocks have a fundamental and inalienable set of rights, whatever that means.

Another one of the proposals, Initiative 75, would make local laws trump state and federal laws related to oil and gas development. Local control is apparently an egregious evil when it comes to educating our children, but a necessary tool where the environment is concerned.

Fracktivists tried in 2014 to mandate minimum setbacks of 2,000 feet. Had those measures been enacted, the Leeds School of Business estimated a loss of 49,000 jobs and $160 billion in GDP. Imagine if Initiative 78 passes, which calls for setbacks of at least 2,500 ft. Say goodbye to economic growth in Colorado.

These measures are job killers. But that’s a part of the great liberal dream – suffocate Colorado businesses instead of making use of the great resources available to us in our state. If we leave our children’s generation impoverished, we can always go back to our hunter-gatherer roots and start making flower bracelets in the forest.