Big Oil, and its local supporters, would distort what Issue 2A really is.
It is not an energy “ban”; it is a timeout while the state conducts critical health and safety studies.
Fracking is highly controversial because it pollutes air and water and potentially endangers the health of people living in the proximity of production sites. Ozone levels in Northern Colorado have been soaring recently, in part due to leakage from the tens of thousands of active wells in Weld County.
Using O&G’s own data from Pennsylvania, a Cornell University study had found that 2.5 percent of wells leak immediately, 30 percent leak after five years and 40 percent leak after 10 years.
Escaping methane will cause major damage to our climate. Health studies are underway by both the state and federal government to evaluate the impacts of fracking. A five-year moratorium hopefully will provide needed safety information and ways to protect the health of both children and adults.
Our governor and some city officials claim we have the strictest fracking rules, but this does not mean these rules are either effective or sufficient.
Threatened lawsuits are acceptable risks as we seek to remove possibly serious health and safety risks from our community.
Alan Apt, Fort Collins