Ron Enge’s letter (Herald, May 10) questioning commissioner Gwen Lachelt widely misses the mark. Lachelt (and every commissioner and most local citizens) doesn’t want to shut down gas and oil development, she merely wants to make it safer and less harmful to our air and water. Lachelt and many others are using critical thinking and science to promote better, safer practices, and simply want the industry to do a better job in producing and delivering their products. The allegation that she wants to shut the industry down is simply false.
The natural gas marketplace itself has caused the downturn in the industry, not attempts to regulate it by requiring producers to disclose the harmful chemicals used in fracking. Advances in energy efficiency and clean renewable technologies are also reducing the demand for fossil fuels. I’m sure Lachelt is aware of the economic impact on people in the industry and is working to help secure their jobs and find education leading to new and better jobs. The marketplace, not regulation, will likely prevent the industry from returning to its former capacity.
We need to support our current leaders, like Gwen Lachelt and Julie Westendorff, who do not want to kill “the Golden Goose,” but clearly want to keep it from fouling our nest. Any candidate who won’t demand the cleanest, best practices for our energy industry is simply selling out our children’s and our planet’s future. We must not let the people who advocate for uncontrolled extractive processes represent us. Vote for Gwen and Julie for the sake of our community.
Daniel Morgenstern
Durango
