January 14, 2011 07:52 PM UTC

Dear Governor Hickenlooper,

•  
• by: Duke Cox

(Quite moving – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Dear Governor,

Congratulations on becoming our new governor, and thank you for stepping up to the task. Your job as the states’ new CEO must be as rewarding as it is challenging. The opportunity to help our fellow citizens is an honor, and you have a chance to profoundly affect the future of Colorado and its’ people.

I chose the term “CEO” for a reason. You have made it clear that one of your priorities as governor is to let the Chamber of Commerce know that you are, if not their BFF, at least “friendly” to them. I suppose it was this eagerness to appear agreeable to the captains of industry that led you to use the expression “drill the living daylights out of” when discussing your plans for natural gas exploration in Colorado. I am confident I don’t have to explain what that rhetoric means to the people living in Colorados’ many gas patches.

Governor, you are a petroleum geologist. The impact that natural gas extraction has on the world around us is something you know quite well. But how much time have you spent getting to know the people who subsidize this giant industry with their land values, their health, and their hopes and dreams? There are many winners in a gas play. But there are also losers. It is for those losers I wish to speak.

We want you to get to know us. We want you to come and walk where we walk and see what we see and smell what we smell. We want you to experience the thrill of a close encounter with a speeding water truck…or a well fire within a few hundred feet from our homes.  Let us show you some of the “well sites time forgot”. Come and taste our water.

Colorado has a “natural capital” that is inestimable. It will, if protected, provide for countless generations of Coloradoans to come. Our beautiful state also is blessed with a “human capital” that has always given Colorado an ability to be reflective and resilient on its’ path into the future. The intrusion by natural gas development on our wildlife, our clean water and air, the health of our citizens, and the quiet enjoyment of our private property is well documented. The need for common sense protections for these fundamentals of a quality lifestyle is obvious. The question is…will you continue to protect them?

The policies and initiatives of Governor Ritter have been under attack by special interests since he took office. But Governor Ritter decided to stand with the powerless, to speak for the helpless, and to care for those who were harmed by the relentless rush of this invasive industry. The new GOGCC regulations are a watershed accomplishment. Restructuring the makeup and balance of the new commission has proven to be an invaluable step toward achieving equity and justice in the gas field, all while the natural gas industry continues to grow.

The new rules, the legislature that demanded them, the people who worked so hard to design and implement them…even the commissioners that are charged with enforcing them…are there because the people of Colorado needed and wanted them. The ranchers, the sportsmen, the fishermen, the small town mayors, the outdoor enthusiasts, the split estate land owners, the thousands and thousands of Coloradoans who spoke up for our land, our water, our health…our future.

I have a simple request, Governor Hickenlooper. Please, don’t forget us.