http://www.nmfreepress.com Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:36:12 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.nmfreepress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1007#josc33 Very nice article. One correction they are not drilling for \"oil and gasoline\" they are drilling for oil and natural gas. Natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel source that we should be embracing as a society. Outsider Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:54:15 +0100 http://www.nmfreepress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1007#josc34 Thanks for covering the issue of oil and gas drilling. The Santa Fe County ordinance, however, is not written to “make it complicated.” Rather, it was written to make sure that if and when there is drilling, it is done properly. It aims to protect public health and safety, keep pollution out of vulnerable water sources, keep drilling activity well away from homes and schools, and ensure that taxpayers don’t end up paying to provide drillers with roads, fire and emergency facilities, and other infrastructure required to do their business. Yes, that raises the bar for the industry – but the ordinance was drafted very carefully to ensure that the industry was not prevented from drilling, provided they accept responsibility for doing it right. My only criticism of your article is relying on Bob Gallagher’s opinion. He is an industry lobbyist, and (like his counterpart in Colorado who recently resigned when caught on film saying that fracking fluid was so safe she’d eaten it), he says what the industry wants us to believe. “Politicized” to this industry means anyone with the cojones to stand up and fight back. Their hard-luck story, that regulations prevent drilling, is completely out of line with independent economic research. The requirement of state-of-the art methods does NOT prevent the industry from working, and in fact studies from within the industry show it often increases profitability while improving environmental safety. With the federal government exempting the oil and gas industry from major environmental laws (Clean Water, Clean Air, Public Right-to-Know about toxic materials, and several others), local jurisdictions that rely on protection from above are dreaming. For an excellent history of the conditions that prompted the Santa Fe response, Google Deb Anderson’s film, “Split Estate”, recently shown on the Discovery channel and getting excellent reviews. Never Trust Lobbyists Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:05:10 +0100