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Following the example of Longmont, which last year became the first Colorado city to ban fracking, next Wednesday, voters in Boulder, Broomfield, Lafayette and Fort Collins will have the opportunity to choose whether or not they support the controversial extraction method of shale oil and gas in their communities.
The Denver Business Journal provides this rundown of the four ballot measures:
Though local ballot initiatives, these are no small-town battles. According to reports, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) has poured over $600,000 into campaigns against the moratoriums.
"The oil and gas industry is trying to intimidate voters by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy this election," Laura Fronckiewicz, campaign manager for the pro-moratorium group Our Broomfield, toldDenver Westword.
Among those industry insiders who are concerned that the success of these local initiatives could spell trouble for the future of fracking in the west, Tim Wigley, president of oil and gas trade group Western Energy Alliance, said, "I've really beat the drum with our members [...] across the West about how dangerous a precedent these could be if they become law."
"The whole country is looking at Colorado as ground zero." The state, he added, "has been traditionally a big-time [energy] producer, and the industry across the nation is looking to see what Colorado voters are going to do."
Three of the four initiatives propose a temporary ban on the process which, according to Fronckiewicz, will allow researchers more time to determine fracking's "true effects" on residents' health and the environment.
Colorado's history as an energy-producing state where landowners' mineral rights are often owned by commercial entities compound the challenges faced by these grassroots initiatives.
The City of Longmont--where last November nearly 60 percent of voters approved an amendment that prohibited fracking and the disposal of fracking waste products within city limits--is currently facing suits by both the COGA and the state.
Those suits, however, have not succeeded in deterring others from taking up their own fight against Big Oil and Gas.
"People on Colorado's Front Range enjoy their quality of life and this industry represents an immediate threat to public health and that quality of life," Cliff Willmeng of the activist group East Boulder County United told the Denver Post. "People see that the question of the environment is not an abstraction--it's something we're living through now."
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Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Following the example of Longmont, which last year became the first Colorado city to ban fracking, next Wednesday, voters in Boulder, Broomfield, Lafayette and Fort Collins will have the opportunity to choose whether or not they support the controversial extraction method of shale oil and gas in their communities.
The Denver Business Journal provides this rundown of the four ballot measures:
Though local ballot initiatives, these are no small-town battles. According to reports, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) has poured over $600,000 into campaigns against the moratoriums.
"The oil and gas industry is trying to intimidate voters by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy this election," Laura Fronckiewicz, campaign manager for the pro-moratorium group Our Broomfield, toldDenver Westword.
Among those industry insiders who are concerned that the success of these local initiatives could spell trouble for the future of fracking in the west, Tim Wigley, president of oil and gas trade group Western Energy Alliance, said, "I've really beat the drum with our members [...] across the West about how dangerous a precedent these could be if they become law."
"The whole country is looking at Colorado as ground zero." The state, he added, "has been traditionally a big-time [energy] producer, and the industry across the nation is looking to see what Colorado voters are going to do."
Three of the four initiatives propose a temporary ban on the process which, according to Fronckiewicz, will allow researchers more time to determine fracking's "true effects" on residents' health and the environment.
Colorado's history as an energy-producing state where landowners' mineral rights are often owned by commercial entities compound the challenges faced by these grassroots initiatives.
The City of Longmont--where last November nearly 60 percent of voters approved an amendment that prohibited fracking and the disposal of fracking waste products within city limits--is currently facing suits by both the COGA and the state.
Those suits, however, have not succeeded in deterring others from taking up their own fight against Big Oil and Gas.
"People on Colorado's Front Range enjoy their quality of life and this industry represents an immediate threat to public health and that quality of life," Cliff Willmeng of the activist group East Boulder County United told the Denver Post. "People see that the question of the environment is not an abstraction--it's something we're living through now."
_____________________
Following the example of Longmont, which last year became the first Colorado city to ban fracking, next Wednesday, voters in Boulder, Broomfield, Lafayette and Fort Collins will have the opportunity to choose whether or not they support the controversial extraction method of shale oil and gas in their communities.
The Denver Business Journal provides this rundown of the four ballot measures:
Though local ballot initiatives, these are no small-town battles. According to reports, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) has poured over $600,000 into campaigns against the moratoriums.
"The oil and gas industry is trying to intimidate voters by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy this election," Laura Fronckiewicz, campaign manager for the pro-moratorium group Our Broomfield, toldDenver Westword.
Among those industry insiders who are concerned that the success of these local initiatives could spell trouble for the future of fracking in the west, Tim Wigley, president of oil and gas trade group Western Energy Alliance, said, "I've really beat the drum with our members [...] across the West about how dangerous a precedent these could be if they become law."
"The whole country is looking at Colorado as ground zero." The state, he added, "has been traditionally a big-time [energy] producer, and the industry across the nation is looking to see what Colorado voters are going to do."
Three of the four initiatives propose a temporary ban on the process which, according to Fronckiewicz, will allow researchers more time to determine fracking's "true effects" on residents' health and the environment.
Colorado's history as an energy-producing state where landowners' mineral rights are often owned by commercial entities compound the challenges faced by these grassroots initiatives.
The City of Longmont--where last November nearly 60 percent of voters approved an amendment that prohibited fracking and the disposal of fracking waste products within city limits--is currently facing suits by both the COGA and the state.
Those suits, however, have not succeeded in deterring others from taking up their own fight against Big Oil and Gas.
"People on Colorado's Front Range enjoy their quality of life and this industry represents an immediate threat to public health and that quality of life," Cliff Willmeng of the activist group East Boulder County United told the Denver Post. "People see that the question of the environment is not an abstraction--it's something we're living through now."
_____________________