Gas Well Debate to Heat Up

You don't find much in the way of rational thinking amoung the left-wing rantings of the local paper. That's why S-T writer Bud Kennedy's article today on gas drilling is such a welcome relief.

I realize those committed greenies can't be bothered with facts in their passionate crusade against fossil fuels. But for the rest of us, here's some facts from Kennedy's article:

• The man that died in the recent gas well blowout in Forest Hill was just the second person in 10 years in Texas to be killed in a well blowout.
  
• There are only about two well fires a year in the entire state.

Now, some might argue that the risk, no matter how small is to great. But as Kennedy correctly points out, "We already live with that risk every time a construction backhoe driver mistakenly digs near a gas line or every time a railroad tanker hits a loose rail."

No doubt there are some local citizens that have been, and will be, inconvenienced by gas drilling. But as the City Council considers tougher regulations of drilling, we should remember. The most vocal opponents of drilling are a bunch of enviro-wackos that are opposed to any and all use of gas and oil. Period.