Letter to the editor: Be informed

A week ago I received an oversized glossy postcard stuffed into my tiny post-office mailbox. Printed with vivid colors and oversized fonts I searched and found in a very tiny font that this unsolicited piece had been paid for by an organization named The Economy and Energy Independence & Colorado Petroleum Industry.

The postcard demanded VOTE NO. It named a proposition that will be appearing on the ballot for the upcoming Nov 6 elections. It mentioned Proposition 112. It named various politicians who the postcard claimed promised to vote NO. The word extreme, the word opposes was used more than once. But not one time was the intent of the Proposition explained.

Inquiring minds want to know. I signed onto the internet. I typed Colorado Proposition 112 onto the search line and found that it is known also as Initiative 97, and seeks to change a previous ruling that delineated the amount of physical space that oil and gas speculators who wish to drill new wells for fossil fuels must legally leave between the drilling site and your homes, schools and other human habitations.

Please do yourself and your community, your entire state a favor. Check it out for yourself. I am not asking you to take my word for it. But do not take their word for it either. Will you vote NO just because this postcard emblazoned with the names of politicians tells you too? Be informed.

Just in case you do not have access to the internet, here is some easy to understand information on P112 omitted from the postcard.

The current restrictions as of 2018 specified that wells must be 1,000 feet from high-occupancy buildings such as schools and hospitals, 500 feet from occupied buildings such as homes, and 350 feet from outdoor areas like playgrounds.

This initiative was designed to mandate that new oil and gas development, including fracking, be a minimum distance of 2,500 feet from occupied buildings such as homes, schools, hospitals, and other areas designated as vulnerable. Vulnerable areas are defined by the initiative as “playgrounds, permanent sports fields, amphitheaters, public parks, public open space, public and community drinking water sources, irrigation canals, reservoirs, lakes, rivers, perennial or intermittent streams, and creeks, and any additional vulnerable areas designated by the state or a local government.” (ballotpedia.org)

For more information, to view the text of the law, visit this link.

https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Proposition_112,_Minimum_Distance_Requirements_for_New_Oil,_Gas,_and_Fracking_Projects_Initiative_(2018)

Unlike the business interests and politicians who are opposing this proposition, I do not demand that you support my ideals politically. My politics are my own business, but if you love your home and want to protect it, your family as well as your life in Colorado, if you want to make sure the petroleum industry will not be drilling wells for fossil fuels right in your back yard, take the time to be informed, think, then do your best. Pay close attention to the names of the politicians printed on the postcard (Jared Polis, Walker Stapleton, John Hickenlooper, Ken Salazar) who seem to care more about the petroleum industry than your family and your home. On Proposition 112, I will certainly vote YES.

Terra Stone

Fort Garland