20 Oct ICYMI – Important News Stories from the Past Few Weeks

October 20, 2015 –

Glenwood Post-Independent – Column: Tipton Follows Money away from Divide Protection
“If Tipton’s job is to represent a Houston-based company called SG Interests, he’s doing a grand job. But he has failed in representing tens of thousands of us who live, work and raise families in this part of western Colorado. I wonder if SG has a vice president’s chair awaiting for our congressman when he retires.” READ MORE

Inside Climate News – Fracking Studies Overwhelmingly Indicate Threats to Public Health
“A comprehensive new look at a wide range of research concludes that fracking inevitably pollutes water and air and harms people.” READ MORE & READ THE STUDY

Aspen Daily News – Lease Swap Could Threaten North Fork Valley’s Wildlife
CHC member Bill Day: “So, I have a problem with the oil and gas business driving a van full of people from Farmington, NM, to be here for a few months [to perform the drilling]. Why the hell is that more important than the people who live here?” READ MORE

High Country News – University Research Controversy Exposes the Perils of Industry Influence
“Cary Nelson, former president of the American Association of University Professors who has written extensively on ‘frackedemia,’ says ‘the oil and gas industry has become much more interested in adding a university brand to its claim.’ The transparency of the Leeds studies was inadequate, Nelson says, and the university may need to reform its disclosure policies.” READ MORE

Denver Post – Anti-Fracking Activists Converge in Denver for Meetings, Protests
“Denver street demonstrations followed a two-day summit that included work on a proposed Colorado ban on fracking.” READ MORE

Durango Herald – Dead Zone Appears on Florida Mesa
“A Florida Mesa property owner is probing into whether recently installed gas wells have contaminated a nearby spring, creating a 2-acre dead zone of vegetation that is expanding 10 to 15 feet each year.” READ MORE

Natural Gas Intel – Jordan Cove LNG Viewed as Market Outlet by Western Colorado Producers
Colorado drillers are hoping that natural gas exports will create more demand for their fracked gas, resulting in more drilling rigs in Western Colorado. READ MORE

Texas Tribune – Report: Energy Boom-Related Traffic Crashes Cost Billions
“An oil and gas bonanza poured plenty of cash into the state’s drilling communities in recent years, but a surge of traffic accidents in rural South and West Texas resulted as well. Now, a Texas A&M University study reveals just how closely petroleum activity appears to be linked to collisions on crowded, crumbling roads in those regions.” READ MORE