Greetings!
Two weeks ago, I shared with you clips from a documentary called, "FrackNation". It is a wonderful film that explores all of the myths perpetuated by those who wish to control our lands by spreading fear and misinformation. I still highly recommend you purchase this video for yourself and share it with your friends and family. For less than the cost of two movie tickets, you'll be getting the real scoop on Fracking and exactly what it entails. (Make you're own popcorn at home and you'll actually be saving money! And, NO...we aren't getting any kickbacks for promoting it...)
This week, several articles came out (see here and here), explaining that because of these improved technologies, we are able to tap into oil resources that used to be considered "untouchable" only 5 years ago.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that there are over 7.4 billion barrels of shale-oil that could be tapped in those states, making it "the largest so-called unconventional resource in the U.S., and the biggest potential oil supply in the nation after Alaska."
I seem to recall several prominent U.S. Presidents promising to make America an Energy-Independent Nation. Well people...here's our chance.
However, the question must be asked, is it within the federal government's jurisdiction to decide how resources in North Dakota, Montana, Utah, or any other state are going to be dealt with? Does this lie within the scope of their "few and defined" powers delegated to them in our nation's Constitution? We believe it does not.
States have the jurisdictional right and responsibility to use the resources of their lands for the well-being of their citizens. It is the source of funding for education for our children and the foundation of our economies. And states are far better equipped to decide how best to manage the multiple uses of their state for the greatest benefit of its citizens. No one cares as much about preserving our public lands as those whose lives and livelihoods depends upon them.
It is time for the federal government to honor the promises it made to each state west of Colorado, just as it did for those in the east. In 1976, the federal government announced that it had "changed its policy" regarding federal lands...something that the Supreme Court has since said it had no right to do.
"[T]he consequences of admission are instantaneous, and it ignores the uniquely sovereign character of that event ... to suggest that subsequent events [meaning acts of Congress] somehow can diminish what has already been bestowed. And that proposition applies a fortiori [with even greater force] where virtually all of the State's public lands . . . are at stake." Hawaii v. OHA, (2009) We believe it is time to recognize this failed policy for what it is: a failed policy that is destroying economies, undermining our children's education and destroying lives. |
