June 8, 2013
Colorado, Letters

Do fracking opponents walk the talk?

Daily Camera | June 8, 2013 | www.dailycamera.com

At the June 4 City Council meeting, many of the same people behind municipalization were also behind the fracking moratorium.

From my 18 years in wind energy at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, I know that more wind turbines on the grid requires more gas turbines on the grid too. This is why the American Wind Energy Association likes natural gas. More wind energy means more fracking for natural gas.

From my master of science in geology, which focused on Cretaceous rocks, I know that Boulder is on the western edge of the Denver-Julesburg Basin, which is among the 10 richest onshore oil and gas producing basins in the United States due to these Cretaceous rocks.

There is a reason why drilling has not taken place in Boulder’s backyards and will not in the future. If you see where Boulder is and where the oil and gas producing fields are within the Denver-Julesburg Basin, they don’t match up.

City Council members Matt Appelbaum, Suzy Ageton and Ken Wilson made some valid points. Mayor Appelbaum said that Boulder should look at the development of the Longmont lawsuit and other activities in Colorado. Councilmember Ageton said that legally the moratorium could be costly for Boulder in addition to other costly issues (like municipaliztion).

Councilmember Wilson mentioned, that whenever you turn on your heat or use your hot water heater, you are using natural gas that came from fracking. I replaced my 30-year-old 50-percent efficient gas furnace with a 96-percent efficient one and replaced my 20-year-old tank water heater with a super efficient on-demand tankless one.

How many of the people who spoke to City Council in favor of a fracking moratorium have walked-the-talk and done the same to reduce their consumption of natural gas?

STEVE HAYMES

Boulder


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/06/08/do-fracking-opponents-walk-the-talk/