takehikes

I'm a Scouter and live in New Mexico, I also happen to work for a natural gas company and have trekked and visited Philmont many times (sorry all you other guys but we have had Camporees there, it's in our council). So I guess my qualifications make me fairly well suited to comment on this. Most people in the industry know that there are a lot of capped producing wells (last count in NM is about 3500). They are capped as they in the past were not worth running due to the price of natural gas. With the rise in gas prices and consumption there is a real clamour to drill now while its a hot button issue. That is the excuse, believe me it isnt because we dont have any. Then the wells they choose to run will run. The gas companies see an opportunity with oil men in the White House and all over the administration to take advantage of the situation and timing. Fair enough, everyone does. The remarkable part is the party doing this is the supposed defender of states and personal rights and yet they are steamrollering them all over the West. So far as the drilling and prodcution being unobtrusive that is just so wrong. Yes, there are wells that produce with little or no impact. The problem is the damage left behind. It's like the idiot bill our congresswoman wrote about ANWR. It would only have 2,000 acres of impact. Guess why? The figured out how many wells and pads and how many square feet of road and came up with 2000 acres. Reality is miles and miles of roads all over the damn place. Same thing will happen here. You know a great Republican, Teddy Rosevelt knew some places are special and so he saved them. Go to the Valle Vidal and then come back and tell me we should drill. As a side note this president has put less in to wilderness than any president since the act was put in to place and that includes those noted conservationists Ronald Reagan and Bush I. On this issue he is Houstons friend not Scoutings.