Natural gas is abundant in Colorado, important to the economy and cleaner than coal. The oil and gas industry is one of the largest industries in Colorado, providing good jobs, and critical contributions to the economy.

So what is everyone's problem with hydraulic fracturing, or fracking? It's complicated. But the industry's communication style plays a starring role.

A Denver Post investigation this week showed that oil and gas spills have surged dramatically, at a rate of two per day this year, contaminating groundwater and a river. Spills are reported to oil and gas commission; usually without anyone telling the residents. A man in Greeley recently testified 32 tanks were approved right next to his house. He had no say in the matter. At a meeting in Erie recently, an Encana spokeswoman said the company went above and beyond to tell nearby residents that 13 wells were being drilled near homes between two dense neighborhoods. How many residents testified to knowing about the plans? Zero.

Encana has an animated film on YouTube showing how natural gas is extracted. It's a bucolic scene; what's missing is people or any community. The hundreds of homes, schools, open space trails and soccer fields dotting the landscape. They're animated fracking another animated planet.

Other industry advertisements feature a tower in the middle of an enormous farm, acres away from structures, and whose owner has mineral rights. It looks a lot different when it's towering over the suburban bedroom windows of Colorado homes, whose owners have never had mineral rights at all.


Executives in the oil and gas industry repeatedly express surprise at what seems to be a "sudden" noisy outburst against fracking and gas extraction. By constantly mischaracterizing their opposition as alarmists making false health claims, they totally ignored the rest of the community. If you think the only people against fracking believe it makes children grow gills or a third eye, they're pretty easy to dismiss, no?

So why bother fully engaging communities on the rapidly growing, heavy industrial activity going on in their own backyards? They're all nuts, right?

Turns out no. Instead of being fully communicative on the enormous growth of gas extraction near residential areas and schools — let alone bothering to tell communities about thousands of sometimes dangerous spills — the industry has run roughshod over Front Range communities. Then expresses a wide-eyed surprise that there's a backlash. That backlash includes spotty bans, moratoriums, and a really messy ballot coming to a mailbox near you this fall.

Both of these are totally regrettable. It's too bad that the oil and gas industry quietly powered ahead with explosive growth, dismissing citizens with concerns as crackpots. And it's too bad that communities and petition-circulators have reactively taken a hodge-podge way at creating an energy non-policy for Colorado that won't work and will be mired down in court.

Regrettable, yes. But, due to the actions of the oil and gas industry, not a surprise.
