Colorado faces a difficult choice: transition off fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy or continue to jeopardize our environment and health. But transition inevitably comes with economic and social disruptions, so any “just transition” requires solutions that mitigate the negative consequences while simultaneously eliminating the deadly pollution caused by burning fossil fuels.
I moved back to Weld County in 2017 after a 25-year absence. The death of my partner called on me to leave Maine, yet I wanted familiar surroundings where I have a long history. I felt confident to buy my house, in Ault, sight unseen, after an intense internet search, but I was not prepared for the level of fracking in Weld County with more fracking to come. I received a forced pooling notice my first year – forced to give up my mineral rights. I fought it. Chevron now has wells south of Ault and Bayswater has wells east of Ault, and there are plenty more wells to the west and more coming at us from the north. We’re surrounded and there’s horizontal drilling underneath our houses in all directions.
We must stop the permits, clean up the mess and support displaced workers in disproportionately-impacted communities across the state, like Ault. In spite of our complicit regulators and governor, and regulations slack with loopholes, a global consensus calls for a “just transition” away from fossil fuels.
Carol A. Hawkins, Safe and Healthy Colorado
Ault
