food & water watch
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LOMAX | Anti-oil & gas measure’s diehards can’t seem to accept voters’ verdict
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The day after the Nov. 6 election, President Donald Trump called the results “a great victory” for his administration. But not too many people take that claim seriously. In much the same way, “ban fracking everywhere” and “keep it in the ground” groups are claiming the decisive defeat of their Colorado anti-oil and gas ballot…
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LOMAX | In a rare convergence, Polis and Stapleton both balk at drilling ban
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Jared Polis and Walker Stapleton both oppose a ballot measure that would effectively ban oil and gas development across Colorado. The two candidates for governor made this rare point of agreement very clear in speeches to the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s annual conference this month. The ballot measure would ban drilling within 2,500 feet,…
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LOMAX | Thinly veiled anti-fracking groups can scarcely conceal their agenda
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There they go again. The final days of signature gathering for Initiative 97 have provided an excellent reminder of why national anti-oil and gas groups shouldn’t be handed the keys to the Colorado state economy. First, it was revealed that signature gatherers for Initiative 97 weren’t getting the paychecks they were promised – before losing their jobs…
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Insidious Initiative 97 would destroy Colorado’s oil and gas economy
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After decades of hard work, Colorado has a diverse and growing economy. Every sector of that economy is important, but the energy sector plays a critical role. Colorado’s business community will always be ready to defend it. Energy producers in Colorado literally fuel every other sector of the economy. With locally sourced and affordable energy,…
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Signature gatherer for oil and gas ballot measure has left Colorado
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One of the contractors collecting petition signatures to get a measure increasing restrictions on Colorado oil and gas operations on the November ballot has pulled out of Colorado, and some of its employees are left unpaid. Six other firms are still collecting signatures for Initiative 97, which would force oil and gas operations to be…
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LOMAX | Anti-oil and gas movement gains little ground beyond Boulder
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For years, national environmental activist groups have camped out in Boulder and the suburbs of Boulder, running a series of local campaigns against the oil and gas industry. From this corner of the state, they have tried to stage a much bigger campaign to drive oil and gas out of Colorado. But the activists have struggled because…
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Colorado’s chief oil & gas regulator moves on, draws darts as well as accolades
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Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper had kind words Tuesday for Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Director Matt Lepore, who announced he would resign next month to return to the private sector. The anti-oil-and-gas advocacy group Food & Water Watch, meanwhile, said Lepore shouldn’t let the door swat him in the backside on his way out.…
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LOMAX: Latest bid to ban oil & gas drilling in Colorado is déjà vu all over again
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The more things change, the more they stay the same – especially if you’re in the business of running anti-oil and gas campaigns in Colorado. In late December, a coalition of environmental activist groups announced the introduction of a statewide ballot measure targeting Colorado’s energy sector. “We’re doing this for a second time,” said campaign…
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LOMAX: Hardline groups use hardball tactics to vilify, manipulate state oil and gas regulators
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The interview was unusually candid. Quite possibly, the interview subject – one of the nation’s top environmental activists – forgot he was on the record. “New injunctions … and new bad press take a terrible toll on agency morale,” he said, describing his group’s legal and political tactics against environmental regulators. “They feel like their…
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LOMAX: Broomfield paper trail leads to Sierra Club and other ‘Big Enviro’ groups
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National environmental groups have a First Amendment right to campaign at any level of government they choose – federal, state or local – just as the business community, energy workers and regular citizens have free-speech rights to oppose these campaigns. For the record, I work on the pro-business side of the street with a group…
