Free speech and Thompson Divide win the week

On Wednesday, a Delta County judge dismissed an SG Interests lawsuit against Pete Kolbenschlag. The company filed suit in February 2017, in response to a comment Kolbenschlag posted to an article at the Glenwood Post Independent website in November 2016. The article was about a BLM decision that had cancelled 25 oil & gas leases […]

Groundbreaking study confirms methane emissions higher than reported

New study finds U.S. oil and gas methane emissions are 60 percent higher than EPA reports (WASHINGTON, D.C.) A study available today in the journal Science finds that the U.S. oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane from its operations each year — nearly 60 percent more than currently estimated by […]

Paid actors harass setbacks petitioners

Oil and gas industry likely supporting agitators to harass and intimidate volunteers during Colorado Rising ballot initiative campaign for safer setbacks Campaign calls on Secretary of State to stop the bullying Petitions have been circulating since April for Initiative 97, which would require 2,500-foot-minimum setbacks between new oil and gas developments and any occupied structures […]

Can We Stop FERC From Rushing Us Toward Climate Catastrophe?

By Dennis Higgins, Truthout It could be argued that, outside of the companies involved in the actual extraction, transmission and sale of fossil fuels, no group of people on Earth can take as much responsibility for our current climate catastrophe as the commissioners at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In 1977, FERC was established […]

Can natural gas elevate people from poverty?

Guest post by Bob Arrington, PE* The Garfield County Energy Advisory Board met last Thursday night (6/7/18) with guest speaker David Ludlum, Executive Director, Western Slope Colorado Oil & Gas Association (WSCOGA), giving an address on The Western States Rural Natural Gas Initiative. Ludlam declared, “By promoting new markets for Utah and Colorado Shale Gas, […]

TEDX podcast: How did the state of Maryland ban fracking?

On April 4, 2017, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed a bill that banned fracking in the state. Maryland is only the second state in the country to ban fracking, after New York established a similar ban in 2015. The passage of the legislation and Hogan’s signature was the culmination of a six-year long campaign […]

Oil & gas industry pumps money into property rights initiatives

Petitions are currently circulating for Initiative 97 in favor of a 2500-foot setback requirement for oil & gas drilling. But that’s not the only petition in need of signatures. Two dozen initiatives have been approved for circulation. Several are backed by the state’s oil & gas industry. Protect Colorado was founded in 2014, to fight […]

The sky is pink

It’s that time of year when Garfield County and the Colorado Dept of Health and the Environment tell us the sky is pink. You might want to review Josh Fox’s short film The Sky is Pink as refresher course for this current gaslighting episode. Report: Air near drilling is clean Air pollution levels near Ursa […]

How to Use Public Hearings to Beat Oil & Gas

Webinar: How to Use Public Hearings to Beat Oil & Gas When an oi & gas company comes to town, the public process can be overwhelming. Sometimes we hear about well pads or other projects after the opportunity for public comment has passed. Oil & gas companies often fast-track the process or present a project […]

Time to pull the plug on CRED newspeak

There is something so satisfying about oil & gas industry types eating their own. This week The Colorado Independent published an exposé on the sins of Anadarko. After it was determined that Anadarko’s uncapped flowline was the cause of last year’s tragic Firestone home explosion, shareholders filed a lawsuit accusing Anadarko of withholding vital information […]