A couple op eds presented for balance. A new direction in the fight against oil and gas in this state? Crested Butte does forced electrification.
Presented in the interest of balance.
I have my own and you are welcome to your opinions on the best way forward for CO Republicans. It's okay for us to disagree.
I want to post the op ed linked below, however, in the interest of providing an opinion that may be contrary to ones you hold. Whether or not it changes your mind, whether or not you agree, I'd recommend that you read it, and I do so for the exact same reason I put up things by other authors.
I think it's important to read things (even through gritted teeth) if for no other reason than to know the arguments the other side of an issue would make.
Presented in the interest of balance.
https://denvergazette.com/opinion/columns/trump-tanked-co-s-gop-just-count-the-votes-dick-wadhams/article_56f4b280-8302-5830-a800-c47b852c37dd.html
**Related
Lest you think circular firing squads are a uniquely Republican thing:
https://coloradosun.com/2023/03/27/colorado-democrats-politics-opinion-zornio/
A new direction in the fight against oil and gas development in this state?
A common environmentalist trick, when you want to block development of whatever kind, is to tie up projects with lawsuits. That is not novel.
The part that I think is novel here (and if I'm wrong, please correct me) is the direction of the attack. I.e. they're still going to try and slow/prevent development, in this case oil/gas transportation/extraction, but the new avenue of attack will be the thoroughness of the reports and studies.
If you read the Sun article linked first below, you'll get a glimpse of what I mean. This article is the culmination of another few (also by the Sun if memory serves) essentially alleging the same thing: that the State of Colorado is being too lax in its permitting process.
I'll be curious to see how this plays out and whether or not this proves to be a profitable avenue.
Profitable, that is for the environmentalists looking to shut down any fossil fuel exploration, refining, combustion and etc.: as we've seen lately, shutting off or curtailing supply has not been a friend to consumers such as you and I.
https://coloradosun.com/2023/03/23/colorado-air-pollution-permits-flaring-withdrawn/
**Related:
An update on the legislation I posted about earlier to further regulate oil and gas. Apparently it may conflict with Polis' recent executive action on NOx emissions.
An interesting wrinkle that I'd like to point out here (by way of showing you it isn't just environmentalists making novel arguments) comes toward the end of the article and is shown in the screengrab.
I take it to be essentially this:
We're (oil and gas say) able and willing to innovate and adapt but to do so we need money. The way we get money to do these things is to be allowed to MAKE money by getting oil and gas out and that takes new wells and permits.
Seems a sound one to me, but I wish them luck in getting the progressives running this state to understand the basics of business.
https://www.cpr.org/2023/03/28/gov-polis-ozone-crackdown-oil-gas-permit-debate/
And while we're on the subject of environmentalists ...
Crested Butte has now gone all electric on new homes.
Remember back when they weren't coming for your gas stoves? Crested Butte won't be knocking down your door to take your stove if you already own one, but if you plan on building a new house and having one, you're out of luck.
Quoting the Sun article linked below: "This year Crested Butte became the first municipality in Colorado to require all new homes and commercial construction be powered by electricity, with no natural gas for heating, hot water or appliances."
Yep.
This decision (at least as it was hinted at in the article) was based on surveys and community engagement. When I followed the links in the articles I saw similar, but I did wonder at it. I think I may (before I'm faced with a different set of rules as a "not official governmentally-defined media person") do a CORA request on the study and what the results were.
If it nets anything, I'll update.
In the meantime, the lesson here for all of us is to pay attention and be involved at the local level:
--If you see or get government surveys, fill them out.
--Read your local papers.
--Attend or read up on what your city/county governments are doing.
--Speak up by attending meetings of local governmental bodies, writing emails, and letters to the editor.
If you'd like to keep your ability to have gas appliances in the future, it's up to you to make that happen and that starts with making sure that your values are in the fore with your local government.
https://coloradosun.com/2023/03/27/crested-butte-all-electric-construction/