Anti-fracking measures hurt environment, national security, says veteran leader

Last Month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that municipalities cannot ban hydraulic fracturing. The battle, however, has shifted to the statewide as three anti-hydraulic fracturing ballot measures will be considered by voters this year.

Colorado is just one of a number of western states, including New Mexico and Nevada, that are considering measures to limit or ban hydraulic fracturing, also known as hydraulic “fracking.”

Capt. James McCormick, USA (ret.), the national program director for Vets4Energy, criticized the anti-fracking bans, saying they will hurt the country’s national and economic security.

“Hydraulic fracturing is renewing America’s energy security,” said McCormick. “It is strengthening our national security. It has no downside.”

Vets4Energy is a national coalition of veterans advocating for policies that increase America’s energy independence.

McCormick said that hydraulic fracturing has been utilized for decades, with more than two million wells already drilled in this country. He also pointed to data showing that the technology has resulted in decreases in carbon emissions.

Just this week, the American Petroleum Institute’s Erik Milito submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science Advisory Board regarding hydraulic fracturing’s impact of carbon emissions.

“Hydraulic fracturing has been the catalyzing force behind the recent decline in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to near 20-year lows,” wrote Milito. “This is because HF has unleashed vast supplies of clean, affordable gas, and this in turn has allowed natural gas to produce much more of America’s electricity – with natural gas emitting half the carbon emissions as other sources and virtually no hazardous air pollutants. In other words, but for hydraulic fracturing, our carbon emissions would be much higher.”

McCormick said that the benefits of hydraulic fracturing, however, go well beyond environmental security.

“Being against domestic fracking is insinuating you don’t trust American workers,” said McCormick. “It is saying you don’t want to improve the environment, and you don’t care about America’s national security.”

“I advise you not tell a veteran who is looking for work, or the parent of a child serving in the Middle East, that hydraulic fracturing is bad,” he added. “If you do, prepare for a substantial discussion that might just question your patriotic feelings about America.”