Drilling vs. the American Dream: A Media Guide on the Impacts of Fracking on Property Rights and Home Values
(PRWEB) November 05, 2013 -- As the current oil and gas boom extends its tendrils across the country, it increasingly puts drilling in conflict with communities that don't want well pads, pipelines, gas flaring, heavy trucks and drums of chemicals in their back yards.
Look no further than four cities in Colorado that grew tired of waiting for state and federal decision-makers to do something about drilling and the threat not only to air and water quality but also something that quite literally hits too close to home. Fears about oil and gas development and how it erodes property values and tramples over property rights are a big part of why voters in Fort Collins, Boulder, Lafayette and Broomfield are casting ballots today on proposed drilling bans or moratoriums inside their municipal boundaries.
For cities like these, there are few options to turn to for help or answers. As detailed in a story published last week by the Colorado Independent, there are scant policies and regulations to guide oil and gas development close to and inside cities and towns. Current laws and legal precedents simply weren't created with the idea that drilling would take place adjacent to homes, subdivisions, parks and playgrounds.
"We need basic numbers and figures, like How much am I going to lose in property value if they start drilling in my subdivision?' "Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones told the Independent. "These aren’t unreasonable questions to ask. I think people deserve some real answers."
It’s a story that decision-makers need to start paying far more attention to. The online resource we've compiled provides background information and examples that point to the need for more study, more protections, and a more comprehensive and balanced policy approach to regulating drilling in and near communities.
The guide is available on Resource Media's website at: bit.ly/HwXQmK.
Eric Frankowski, Resource Media, http://resource-media.org, 720.564.0500 Ext: 13, [email protected]
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