Wait a Minute

      Every time we travel our state we see change around every corner. Whether it’s more houses, energy development or another road, someone is tearing up dirt. Is this good or bad? I guess it depends on you and your thoughts. If you don’t like it, you’re bound to be in trouble. If you are in favor of overall development, you’re going to be in for a real treat in the coming years.
    Wyoming has always been an energy exporting state and that’s likely to continue. I have always supported the energy industry in the state, especially where my mineral rights are concerned, but I’ve not supported shoddy reclamation or undesirable cleanup. The unwanted impacts are never welcome. I realize there are impacts related to energy development. I also see that there are some energy companies, like some meatpacking facilities, that give the rest of the industry a black eye. But as with the meatpacking industry, they are a small part, thank God.
    I am also a strong supporter of “green” energy, but that also is going to impact ranchers and farmers in Wyoming. Why, as a landowner, should I be run over just to satisfy the people in California who mandate “green” power? We have all seen maps of the proposed new transmission lines across Wyoming. Those lines are going to cross quite a bit of private land. So far, I have not heard of one landowner who has been contacted and told of the upcoming impacts. Is everyone thinking that the transmission line companies will just use the eminent domain laws and away they go? I’m willing to sacrifice some, but I’m also going to stand up for my rights and not sacrifice the whole ranch.
    We are quick to condemn China, India and other developing countries for their contamination of the resources, but we need to remember that America has been learning how to do development properly for 150 years now. We’re still learning. These other countries are learning a lot faster than we did and they have our help in achieving those goals.
    America can and should be the world leader in green technology. This technology can be used worldwide and it can be an economical asset to us. As I see it, the trouble now is that we are exporting this technology to other countries instead of really using it here at home. I’m not against oil, but why are we importing $100 a barrel oil from a country that hates us? The president of Venezuela is defeating us by selling us all of that pricey oil. And we are depending on it. To get rid of this dependence of importing oil, America is going to have to change fast.
    I heard on the TV where Toyota is the biggest carmaker, the most profitable, and their cars use less gas per mile. If they can do it, why can’t we do it? As was heard at the National Governor’s conference in Washington D.C., “Why do we have energy politics and not an energy policy?” Isn’t that where it all starts? And while we are all planning, let’s have the people in California plan on paying me so much a year to put up with their transmission lines.
Dennis