Country can breathe sigh of relief. We’re still stuck with him…
By William Yeatman and Amy Oliver Cooke As Coloradans we thought we might have to apologize to the rest of the country if President Barack Obama nominated former one-term Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to head the Energy Department. If the President wanted to make electricity costs skyrocket and the eco-left community happy, Ritter was his […]
NY Governor scared of his eco-left flank
For the last four years, the state of New York has imposed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing supposedly to give Governor Andrew Cuomo time to study the process before making a decision on whether or not to lift it. Four years seems like a long time to study a process that has been around for […]
Hate fuels Boulder fracking debate
“The function of the Human Relations Commission is to foster mutual respect and understanding and to create an atmosphere conducive to the promotion of amicable relations among all members of the city’s community.” Boulder Human Relations Office For a community with an “Office of Human Rights” and is home to a university with a multi-million […]
Fun with Fracking…
Energy Policy Center Director Amy Oliver Cooke has fun talking energy, especially when wearing a hot pink “Mothers In Love with Fracking” t-shirt. Thanks to Tom Barry of The Villager for this photograph and his article on the American For Prosperity (AFP) event that featured Dick Morris. AFP invited Amy to be the warm up […]
Frack Attack: Cracking the Case Against Hydraulic Fracturing
A ban on fracking would not satisfy those who present general arguments against any kind of development. Acceptance of these arguments would require an outright ban on all oil and gas activities, new wind farm construction, electric transmission construction, residential housing developments, road construction, and the like. Before accepting any argument against fracking as sufficient grounds to restrict or ban its use, one should take that argument to its logical conclusion and consider the full set of repercussions. For if such arguments are granted valid status, they will be used again and again by whichever parties can benefit from shutting down any particular form of development.
Cancer Risk From Fracking Chemicals Needs Some Perspective
By Donovan Schafer The Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) at the University of Colorado recently published an article in Science of the Total Environment presenting results from a study on air pollution due to oil and gas development (including hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”) in Garfield County. Benzene and other ”potentially toxic” chemicals were found […]
Fracking: Chemicals, Cancer, and Relative Risks
The Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) at the University of Colorado recently announced an article that will be published this month in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The article is based on a study of air pollution resulting from oil and gas development (including hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”) in Garfield County. According […]
The Truth About Fracking and Water Scarcity
This post will be the first in series on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), in which Independence Institute research associate, Donovan Schafer, will take on specific issues related to fracking. In this post he focuses on the claim that fracking will deplete Colorado’s water resources. Enjoy! Two recent articles—one in the Denver Post and another in the […]
EPA report is blessing in disguise for fracking advocates
by Donovan Schafer In a recent report, the EPA linked groundwater contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming, to the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) used to extract oil and gas. You can almost hear the collective “Hooray!” from anti-fracking advocates. But the actual data in the EPA report make it clear that fracking is safe. The […]
