Increasing royalties for the first time since the 1920s is credited for some of the extra revenue due to Colorado governments this fiscal year
oil and gas leases
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: At a moment like this, America should be expanding oil production, not cutting back
With market forces and geopolitical turmoil leading to soaring energy prices, it has become abundantly clear that America needs more energy and the ability to produce it domestically. Unfortunately, the policies of the current administration have left us in an untenable situation. The cost of natural gas and oil have increased 100% and 60% respectively […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Education, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Budgets fat with fossil fuel revenue at odds with climate-change goals in states like Colorado
By Morgan Lee and Mead Gruver, The Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. — Government budgets are booming in New Mexico: Teacher salaries are up, residents can go to an in-state college tuition-free, moms will get medical care for a year after childbirth, and criminal justice initiatives are being funded to reduce urban violence. The reason […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: 3 lessons from the energy crisis
The recent tightening of energy markets and ensuing price spikes are being felt globally. These conditions are driven by a multitude of factors related to fossil fuel demand and supply. Fingers are being pointed at producers, at the transition to clean energy sources, and at government. The blame game is overly simplistic, and helps no […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Biden sets out oil, gas leasing reform, stops short of public-lands ban
By Matthew Daly, The Associated Press The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation’s oil and gas leasing program to limit areas available for energy development and raise costs for oil and gas companies to drill on public land and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Biden administration says oil, gas sales damage climate — but won’t stop them on public lands in the West
By Matthew Brown, The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration is planning to sell oil and gas leases on huge tracts of public land in the U.S. West, despite the Interior Department’s conclusion that doing so could cost society billions of dollars in climate change impacts, according to government documents. Administration officials announced […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: It’s too easy and cheap for drillers to lease and pollute Colorado’s federal land
When President Biden took office in January, one of his first actions was to hit pause on all new oil and gas leasing on federal public lands. The president took this immediate action because he knew that our federal leasing program is deeply flawed and that communities in Colorado and across the country are paying […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: If we don’t drill for oil and gas on federal lands, we’ll buy it from Russia
The budget reconciliation bill before Congress would, if passed with all the public lands provisions, drive oil and natural gas producers off federal lands in Colorado and across the West to other areas of the country or overseas. If passed as-is, it would achieve the President’s goal of “no federal oil.” The dozens of policies […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Too much talk, too little action from the Interior Dept. on conservation
I appreciate that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is joining a conversation with the Salazar Center to discuss the Administration’s plan for “America the Beautiful,” an effort to secure protections for public lands across the nation. But I have difficulty reconciling this leadership role with the Biden administration’s continuation of damaging, left-over policies that thwart conservation […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Judge blocks Biden’s pause of new oil, gas leases on public land in Colorado and other states
By Kevin McGill, The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — The Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water was blocked Tuesday by a federal judge in Louisiana, who ordered that plans continue for lease sales that were delayed for the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska waters “and all eligible […]