Energy

By Mark Hillman, Contributing Editor
Here's a congressman who built his reputation as an uncompromising environmentalist, who has consistently opposed domestic energy exploration, and who has blocked construction of new refineries to make American energy supplies more secure.

By Senator Wayne Allard
Colorado is different. Our Rocky Mountain oysters aren't seafood, our tourism industry heats up when temperatures cool down and our oil reserves aren't like Texas' liquid "black gold." Ours are the shale rocks of Western Colorado. Unfortunately, one thing in Colorado seems to be the same as everywhere else: People with an agenda like to tell just part of the story. Such is the case with the latest debate about oil shale.

By Mark Hillman, Contributing Editor
As if paying $4-plus for gasoline isn't bad enough, some of Colorado's political leaders seem bound and determined to spread pain at the pump to the cost of heating our homes this winter — and for decades to come. Ours is a beautiful state with an abundance of natural resources: silver and gold lured early pioneers, mountain vistas and ski slopes keep visitors coming year after year, and abundant energy sources fuel our economy and our way of life.

By William Moloney, Contributing Editor
As the shock waves from $4 per gallon gasoline impact every segment of U.S. society the decades old taboo against even discussing new offshore oil drilling has been decisively shattered. This wholly unexpected development now offers an extraordinary political opportunity to John McCain and the Republican party, but only if they have the courage to boldly seize it.

By Bob Beauprez, Editor-in-Chief
In his weekly radio address to the nation on Saturday July 12, 2008 George W. Bush called on the Democrat led congress to ”address the pain that high gas prices are causing our citizens.” Democrats have steadfastly maintained restrictions on tapping into large known reserves like the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR), oil shale deposits in places like Colorado, and offshore in US controlled ocean waters.

By William Moloney, Contributing Editor
The 18th century lexicographer Samuel Johnson famously remarked that the prospect of being hanged in the morning “concentrates the mind wonderfully”. Gasoline at $4.00 a gallon should be a similar spur to clear thinking about U.S. energy policy.

By John Harpole, President of Mercator Energy LLC
I was not trying to embarrass the Governor. It was not meant to be a trick question. Rather, it was a simple question that most politicians would shrug off with a predetermined in-the-can answer.

The scene was the Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s Annual Luncheon held last November at the Brown Palace. After a brief 15 minute talk, Gov. Ritter was brave enough to solicit questions from what he knew was a less than adoring audience. As he scanned the room of over 500 people, no one raised their hand. So I did, I asked the question.

By Bob Beauprez
The Energy Bill signed into law last month provides yet another example of the twisted irony that is far too easy to find in the stuff that comes out of Congress. This time Big Brother has gotten into your bedroom.

By Bob Beauprez
There's a popularly held belief out there that if America were to just walk into the public policy confessional and ask forgiveness from our addiction to oil and simultaneously pledge allegiance to "the new way" -- when we walk out all would be right with the world. Nice myth, but reality just isn't that way.

By Bob Beauprez
Evidence of how different people can have the same facts but come to opposite conclusions appeared Tuesday morning, June 12, in the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post. The Rocky basically says "Enough already! Get on with it." The Post thinks we need to study it more and supports further delaying permitting.

By Bob Beauprez
The world relies on fossil fuels – oil primarily – to support our lifestyle and economic opportunity. Demand for energy by the rapidly expanding economies of India and China, which include over eight times the population of the U.S. and 1/3 of the world’s total, have strained the global supply and driven up prices – and that will almost certainly continue. Massive amounts of the world’s current oil supply and remaining reserves are either under the umbrella or threat of radical Islam regimes or in the hands of anti-America fanatics like Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.