While I don't totally like fracking for oil and gas, worrying about groundwater contamination from either the original fracking liquid and its reinjection, or earthquakes caused by its reinjection, and while I think the Texas Legislature was wrong in banning bans on fracking, at the same time, I think Denton anti-fracking activists should have considered a more incremental approach.
Like that of the city of Dallas.
Technically, you can still frack for gas in Dallas. However, various setback regulations have made that nearly impossible, at least not without a 2/3 supermajority of the Dallas City Council.
But, the new anti-anti-fracking bill now signed into law by Gov. Abbott may undercut Dallas, too, which probably wouldn't have been the case before.
Sometimes, strategery is the better part of valor.
That said, the frackers' refusal to be more environmentally conscious, as well as address noise/light/air pollution issues in urban areas, and the state's refusal to deal with this, led Denton voters to support a fracking ban in the first place.
To riff on what I saw on Twitter, bigger than a uterus and smaller than a fracking truck is still under local control, I guess.
Meanwhile, jokes from some conservatives aside, how many fracking opponents drive Tahoes and Suburbans that just about never leave paved streets? (If you do need that much room, minivans are cheaper and get better gas mileage.)
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