“The sooner they are in touch with what goes on in the real world, the better”

October 23, 2018

When America goes to the polls in just two weeks, the stakes are very high.  For the most part, the national media is focused on control of Congress, and all the policy implications that go along with it.

That’s why a profile in the New York Times today caught our eye over at Power The Future. The Gray Lady went to Colorado, a state that we have followed closely, and profiled the fight over Proposition 112. As the Times described it: “After years of bitter fights over oil and gas development, Colorado voters have managed to get a statewide anti-fracking measure on the November ballot. The initiative is unprecedented in its scope — potentially barring new wells on 95 percent of land in top-producing counties — and industry executives are watching with concern, fearful that it could encourage similar measures across the nation.”

When even the NYT is referring to something as “unprecedented in scope,” you know it must be really extreme.

Power The Future has been paying special attention to Proposition 112.  In a guest op-ed in the Durango Herald earlier this month, we wrote, “Colorado Oil and Gas Association President Dan Haley put it well: “Coloradans need to know exactly what is at stake: private property rights, more than 100,000 good-paying jobs, more than $1 billion in taxes for schools, parks and libraries, and our nation’s energy security.”

Meanwhile, new polling data out just last night from the University of Colorado’s American Politics Research Lab showed Proposition 112 with a narrow lead – 52 percent of Colorado voters say they support the fracking ban.

That’s worrisome news for those of us who support good-paying jobs and more resources for our communities and schools. Fortunately, there are two weeks left for independent-minded voters to realize the real-world implications this dangerous policy would have. As the Times quoted one employee of the energy industry describing the future of his children if 112 were to pass:

“What happens in November will, in turn, affect their lives. “Whether I have a job or not, whether we get to stay, to keep living where all my children were born.” He went on: “The sooner they are in touch with what goes on in the real world, the better.”

Amen. The sooner the rabid opponents of energy and economy and industry come to their senses, the better off we’ll all be. In the meantime, Power The Future will be here to hold them accountable and do our best to stop them from ruining the livelihoods of many.