In Colorado, Enviros Fear Letting Anti-Fracking Measures Face Voters
Even as Colorado environmentalists wait to hear if their anti-fracking initiatives will make November’s ballot, some green groups fear letting the measures face voters.
Politico Pro’s Elana Schor reports on the “bipartisan opposition to anti-fracking ballot measures”:
…environmentalists alarmed by the multimillion-dollar campaign against the proposals — which could force Hillary Clinton to the center on the issue — are privately hoping they don’t come before voters.
Even if the measures make it on the ballot, some on the Environmentalist Left would rather not face voters:
[One Colorado environmentalist said:] “If they don’t get on the ballot, I think it’s better for the environmental movement, because if they do get on the ballot, the oil and gas industry will just pummel this state. Democrats and moderate Republicans won’t want to touch this issue for quite some time.” Another environmental advocate in the state agreed that the initiatives have “a pretty tough path to victory” if they do make it on the ballot, adding: “I’d rather not see the measures crushed at the ballot box.”
CBS Denver previously reported that anti-fracking groups may not have earned the signatures they needed to force the two ballot initiatives.
Maybe Colorado environmentalists have refused to take a hint. Core News previously reported that all three branches of the state’s government have rejected anti-fracking efforts:
First, the Colorado government has affirmed the legality of fracking time and time again. … Second, and more importantly, fracking plays a crucial role in Colorado’s economy. A 2014 study from the University of Colorado Boulder estimated a fracking ban would cost the state 68,000 jobs and $8 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) in just the first five years of the ban.
Of course, economic concerns matter little for the Environmentalist Left. Keep up with Core News to see if enviros succeed in destroying one of Colorado’s most important industries.