Initiatives Fail To Garner Enough Votes

[Terrel L. Shields]

Amidst allegations of fraud by signature gatherers, both anti-fracking measures failed. That's good news for Colorado taxpayers and the economy of the state. One measure would have let local governments ban drilling which would have triggered 4th amendment taking lawsuits by mineral owners. The other would ban drilling within 2,500' of a house. That would have effectively banned 90% of all drilling in the state making almost all exploration uneconomic. Oil and gas companies are major employers in the state and companies were prepared to vacate the region, taking jobs with them. And millions contributed by mineral owners would have dwindled requiring the taxpayers to pick up the slack.

I know some still believe in the fracking boogieman but oil & gas use worldwide isn't going away just because the watermelon crowd wants it to. I wonder how much gasoline was burned needlessly seeking signatures to basically attempt to make cars obsolete.