Denver Post
June 24, 2008, Susan Greene

Jill Hanauer, a Democratic consultant from Denver, articulates better than most people what it means to be a Westerner. "We may not make it to the mountains each weekend, but we aspire to. We like to know that wilderness will be available to us and our children. Despite wages and benefits that are lower than in other regions, it's that aspiration that keeps us choosing to live here," she says. Hanauer's words came to mind Monday as hundreds of Coloradans packed into Denver's Paramount Theatre to weigh in on rules for oil and gas drilling. You may have heard about the state proposal in a massive spin campaign by the industry. Companies want you to think they might be forced to pack up and drill in another state. "Please Don't Rule Us Out!" read the politely threatening stickers passed out Monday. Some will have you believe that if the rules pass, you'll pay even more at the gas pump. One industry booster even testified the regs could make it impossible for her family to help her autistic daughter. What is scariest about the industry's sky-is-falling scare tactics is that they actually may work on the majority of Coloradans — Front Rangers insecure about our own credentials as Westerners and often as clueless about where our energy comes from as where we glean our water. ...

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9678031