Colorado Seeks Protections Amid Energy Boom

This article really demonstrates the recklessness which the Colorado oil and gas industry and Republican Colorado state lawmakers exhibit towards human, animal, and environmental life. I wouldn't refer to myself as a strict environmentalist. I think there needs to be some balance between commerce and the environment. And yes, "jobs" in the oil and gas industry in Colorado are important as one of the arguments from the article goes. But a nurse's vital organs almost failed because she inhaled from a patient's boots some secret sauce used during the natural gas extraction process and natural gas proponents still think that we should proceed with business as usual? Am I so naive as to think that someday these people will come to their senses and stop this myopic gratification for some long-term sustainability?

I have another bit of wishful thinking. I would like it if there were mandatory field trips for all of these blind supporters of the oil and gas industry to these natural gas drilling sites so they could see just how much damage this does to the air, land, and water around the area. I bet that these field trips would open a few eyes and show exactly how we get the non-renewable fuel that powers our furnaces and hot water heaters. Only then may we see a change in behavior and a reduction in myopic and political posturing.