May 2, 2007
Not in My Back Yard
Where the oil and gas industry ventures, controversy follows. The Helena (Montana) Independent Record reports from Billings that the rush to drill in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Montana is pushing hunters and their game off federal land. The Environmental Working Group and the National Wildlife Federation found that drilling has doubled in the past decade and is destroying crucial habitat for species including pronghorn antelope, mule deer, elk and sage grouse. The fact that hunter and game appear to be ganging up on drillers may seem ironic, but it is also an example of one of the biggest hurdles to US energy policy: Nimby - Not in My Back Yard. Whether it is a famous liberal Senator blocking windmills off Cape Cod or Malibu celebrities grumbling about a new Liquefied Natural Gas Receiving terminal potentially spoiling their surfing, Nimby is everywhere. Why else was ethanol the cornerstone of George W. Bush’s most recent State of the Union address? It’s not much more environmentally friendly than petrol, it’s hardly cost effective and in terms of sheer scale, close to unachievable. But it does come with one crucial element - farm belt votes.
