FML: Frack My Life

I always find it interesting when politicians and partisan news groups pull a nifty slight-of-hand-trick in their maneuverings to distract the public. Like during the run up to the 2014 election cycle where instead of focusing on the candidates, voting records, or the real issues facing this country, all we heard about was ebola and ISIS.

Never mind we had a sitting congress who fomented ebola hysteria, while simultaneously obstructing confirmation of a Surgeon General. Or the fact that money's influence in the post-Citizens United world the mere disapproval of the NRA was enough to stall the confirmation for almost a year.

However, most of the time things are much subtler than that. Take for example NC's new natural gas policy. It took over seven years for the door to open in NC for "fracking," and in that time a lot about the Tar Heel state changed.

Without the political wind shifts in NC, fracking could never have survived the state's 44 year old environmental policy, SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act of 1971), which was designed to protect the environment by subjecting the use of state natural resources to a comprehensive review on both the state and federal level. The idea being that during the 70's the state believed it was necessary in the rapidly developing world to mirror and enhance federal efforts to protect the environment and capitalize on natural resources. But after the Bush administration's Energy Policy Act of 2005 carved out exemptions for fracking it was just a matter of time before speculators began to circle hoping to pan for proverbial gold.

And who could blame the hidden players in this game? Entities like ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) and Duke Energy spent years and tens of millions of dollars crafting the legislation and getting their hand-picked, line towing politicians elected. They're just asking for what they paid for.

Like this? Try Jason Merrit.

#fracking #FirstAmendment #environmentallaw #campaignfinance