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by David Dvorak
All over the country public lands are being opened up to oil and
gas exploration especially in the western states, due to exemptions
from environmental laws put in place by the 2005 Energy Policy
Act. The pro-industry push for public land is greater than ever
before. After Bush’s first year in office, permits to drill
rose 11%. Permits continued to climb from 3580 in 2001 to an all
time high of 6,581 in 2007. A mind boggling figure of 44 million
acres, (about the size of North Dakota) are under lease for oil
and gas extraction. Most of this land is concentrated in 5 Rocky
Mountain States.
Much of this development is in high sagebrush country that supports
nearly 300 species of birds including the rapidly declining sage-grouse,
sage thrasher, and Brewer’s sparrow. Also inhabiting this
area are high populations of antelope, mule deer, and elk. Sage-grouse
populations have dropped 83% in areas of intensive drill pad development
and road building. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has started
a new review of the sage-grouse which could land it on the endangered
species list. This would slow the process of leases in lands used
by this species. Since the boom began, other species have also
been hurt. Mule deer populations declined by 1/3 in areas of heavy
drilling. An amazing 21 antelope were killed accidentally by a
truck carrying water to a drill pad site in Colorado.
Environmental damage is occurring also as the land is criss-crossed
by roads and drill pads that destroy habitat. In Colorado between
January 2003 and March 2008 there were more than 1500 spills by
the gas and oil industry. These spills allow pollutants into groundwater
and streams. The Bush-Cheney Administration has followed a path
of fast tracking drilling permits and waving some environmental
laws that allow for a variety of chemicals to be set free.
Hopefully the Obama Administration will insist that the legislature
pass a bill allowing for more regulation and enforcement of existing
environmental laws. Many people have united in their opposition
to this aggressive leasing policy including ranchers and environmentalists.
This rapid development will not relieve the US domestic gas shortages
and will only lead to more greenhouse gases. It’s past time
for tearing up our country for oil and high time for investing
in alternative fuels and energy sources.
You can write your congressional representatives and senators,
asking them to reverse the exemptions from environmental laws given
to the oil and gas industry that were put in place by the 2005
Energy Policy Act.
(Editor’s note: Oil
and gas fields are the single biggest man-made source of volatile
organic emissions in the West, according
to air quality officials.)
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