In the small town of Paonia, Colorado with a population of less than 1,500 people, the citizens are clashing over the opening up of public land for oil and gas production. Ever since natural gas production has expanded, most people have not cared about environmental impacts unless the production affects them directly. In Western Colorado, the mentality has been to expand drilling “over there”, not “over here” where I will have to deal with the impacts. “Coloradans west of here are the ones who have written letters to the government supporting the lease sale, saying it will bring jobs and tax revenues. In Paonia, where political lines are more evenly split, residents have come out overwhelmingly against the idea of drilling, saying it threatens a new economy rooted in tourism, wineries and organic peaches. The Bureau of Land Management visited the town to talk to the citizens and couldn’t guarantee absolute safety from the drilling. “I can’t guarantee you there won’t be a spill,” Lonny Bagley, the land management agency’s deputy state director for energy and minerals, told the audience. “I can’t guarantee there won’t be a blowout.”
Please read the article from the New York Times in its entirety to understand the issues at hand.
1. To begin, take a firm stance for or against opening these additional lands for potential oil drilling. In this case, the community Paonia vehemently disagrees with larger national United States Community. How can a leader balance the rights of the minority with the needs of the majority?
2. Over time, society has constructed the norm of not caring about issues that do not relate to a community’s interests directly. How can separate communities expect to interact in mutually beneficial ways with this disconnect of empathy for other community’s interests? Where do you think this trend originated from and why?
3. Imagine you are a leader in Paonia, what actions would you take to help resolve the issue of protecting your community’s interests?
Please refrain from a purely political response when answering the questions.
