[The following, written by Synthesis weekly columnist Julia Murphy, appeared in the Synthesis Weekly on Monday, June 16th, 2008. Julia can be reached at ninjatreehugger@gmail.com]


“Foregone Production” and Human Resources

“By being left in the ground, the resource would provide no value to society.”
I am reading an ICF International (consulting firm) document that was prepared for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. This phrase is used to illustrate the tragedy of “foregone production”, that is, when you leave something—natural gas, in this case–in the ground and don’t attempt to extract and sell it.
El Jefe sent me a short article from the website Americans for American Energy— “California Consumers to Take $4.5 Billion Hit From Proposed Colorado Energy Regs.” The ICF International study is the material that the article hinges on; Colorado Governor Bill Ritter updated the draft regulations for oil and gas mining in Colorado, after concerns voiced by hunters, homeowners, local governments, and of course those environmental groups. The usual whining: “Oh! You’re spoiling the air! You’re taking all the water! You’re harming public health!”

more after the jump. (more…)