Colorado needs a comprehensive restructuring of how extraction industries are regulated in our state. The Legislature should lead the process of getting rid of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. This regulatory construct isn’t working for the benefit of the people of Colorado. It only works for the oil and gas industry. We need a regulatory structure that prioritizes the health and well-being of the people. The extraction industries play …

Looking at a before-and-after map displaying the Trump 85 percent reduction of Bears Ears National Monument, I noticed a place from my childhood. Grand Gulch is a 50- or 60-mile-long canyon in Utah near Canyonlands Nation Park. In 1973, as part of my high school’s outdoor education program, 20 of my schoolmates and I hiked from one end of the canyon to the other in 10 days. That trip had …

My family moved from the New York City suburbs to Aspen when I was in the eighth grade. That September the entire class went on a weeklong hiking and camping trip. I had never camped before. I had never forged a raging river. I had never seen the setting sun’s reflection in a crystal clear mountain lake. That week changed my life. I guess they didn’t have a trip like that …

Just when you thought the oil and gas industry couldn’t have any more power in Colorado, you learn about “forced pooling.” Even if you own the mineral rights under your property, they can be taken from you to allow fracking. For example, at the Wildgrass neighborhood in Broomfield, 500 homeowners learned that, if just one of them agrees to the terms offered by Extraction Oil and Gas, all of them will …

Excerpt from Daily Camera editorial advisory board 05/06/2016 written by Judy Amabile  This week’s topic: What’s your take on the Colorado Supreme Court’s fracking decisions striking down a ban in Longmont and a moratorium in Fort Collins? On Jan. 7, 1632, the city of Cambridge passed the colonies’ first land-use regulations. One measure restricted the location of horse stables. They were considered a nuisance. In 1916, New York City enacted the country’s …

Excerpt from the Daily Camera editorial advisory board 11/03/2012 written by Judy Amabile  Hurricane Sandy became a monster storm long feared on the East Coast, crippling transportation, destroying some communities and killing an estimated 100 people. It also became the biggest national news story of the week, bringing up serious issues regarding the climate, politics and preparedness and response. What do you think? This year’s election has been a dizzying assault on …