Progressives & the Politics of Oil Drilling

The oil and gas industry's rampant disregard for private property owners may make you angry. But there's a good side - their misbehavior is opening up some very interesting opportunities for progressives in key states.

In the red swing state of Colorado, Republicans joined with the energy industry to kill legislation that would have forced Corporate America to pay more when they harm private property during energy exploration. Make no mistake about it - this is a big issue, as the energy companies are riling up folks in the traditionally conservative rural parts of Colorado. The Denver Rocky Mountain News has a big piece today exploring how land owners are often poorly compensated when oil/gas companies drill under their land - and how ordinary citizens' property rights are abused. And now a Texas company is attempting to open up Colorado's sacred Rocky Mountain Front to drilling.

This battle is also playing out in Florida. The Los Angeles Times reports that last week a U.S. Senate committee "backed a study to determine how much oil and natural gas lies off the coasts" – a step that "could lead to weakening the decades-old ban on new offshore drilling." While Florida's House delegation fought off a formal effort to allow drilling near the state's coast, the St. Petersburg Times notes that "Congress thirsts for oil drilling in Florida waters."

To be sure – this assault is bad news for the environment. But it is forging a new alliance between traditionally conservative property owners and conservationists. That is a huge opportunity for progressives to reframe the environmental movement in a way that plays offense in GOP territory. No longer is environmentalism just protecting endangered species (though that is clearly still important). It is now becoming about ordinary people's property/privacy rights – giving environmentalism that necessary twinge of short-term self-interest that can make it a populist issue, and allow us to play offense in GOP areas.