Credit: Colorado Springs No Fracking FB page
The fracking fight came to Colorado Springs yesterday, and energy development won out over a radical environmentalist “mob” of about 20 people. In a 6-3 vote to allow exploratory drilling on private land in the Springs, the city council decided to not make the same mistake Longmont Councilman Brian Bagley and the Longmont City Council made by getting in bed with radical environmental wackjobs.
Reports the Colorado Springs Gazette‘s Ned Hunter:
Dave Gardner wore a green gas mask in front of City Hall Tuesday, hoping to encourage City Council members to vote against an ordinance that allows drilling for oil and natural gas within the city.
Gardner was among more than 30 people who showed up to present their views on the ordinance. More than half of the attendees spoke against it, but their efforts failed.
After more than six hours, council members voted 6-3 to approve a set of rules that would allow Ultra Resources, Hilcorp Energy Co. and other energy companies to drill exploratory and other wells within city limits. Council members Tim Leigh, Angela Dougan, Merv Bennett, Brandy Williams, Lisa Czelatdko, and Bernie Herpin voted in favor of the ordinance. Council members Jan Martin, Val Snider and Scott Hente voted against it. The ordinance must be voted on again at the council’s Dec. 11 meeting.
While the Gazette‘s reporter romanticizes the environmentalist protesters in his write up, giving short shrift to the majority supporters, the key takeaway is that the council ignored the radical environmental hysteria.
Despite all the environmental diatribes about groundwater contamination risk from fracking, as Governor Hickenlooper pointed out in a radio ad earlier this year, there hasn’t been any in Colorado due to fracking.
Thankfully the Colorado Springs City Council majority didn’t follow Longmont’s lead. An initiative this summer to partially ban oil and gas development, spearheaded by City Councilman Brian Bagley, is indicative of what happens when you accede to radical whacks. Bagley, an apparently gullible politician, thought that passing stringent oil and gas limitations would calm the band of green nuts. Oops. Hick sued him and Longmont and then the enviros pushed through a ban on drilling and fracking altogether.
With unemployment still at 7.9% in Colorado, it’s nice to see some politicians picking the side of energy jobs over protesters in costume making scenes at city council meetings.
Amazingly, I must have been deeply confused between 2001 and 2006–when I thrice served as a surrogate stem cells spokesperson for the GW Bush White House and corresponded daily with national conservative biotech policy advisers. After all, using the same unbiased logic and scrupulous research into the reality of an issue that once led me to side with conservatives concerning stem cells, cloning, and basic research into Neuroscience (which will determine whether I walk again), I now side 1,000% with "green nuts, wackjobs, and environmental extremists" who oppose the blight of fracking. Or maybe I wasn't confused–only hoodwinked into believe the 'moral' hypocrisy of conservative leaders who sold their morality long ago to the highest bidder…if it ever existed. James P. Kelly, former contributing writer to National Review, Human Events, The Washington Times, and Celebrate Life.