‘No’ on Amendment 82

Kate Christensen, Boulder Daily Camera, September 25th, 2026

I’m grateful that Colorado voters in the 1850s were not convinced by the whale oil industry to put a “right to whale oil” in the state Constitution. One can imagine the tragic boondoggle that would have been. Yet, it is what the oil and gas industry wants us to do this year with Amendment 82, “right to natural gas.” For years, the oil and gas industry has dumped millions and millions of dollars into advertising to convince us that natural gas is clean and safe. The Denver Post reported that in 2017 alone the oil and gas industry spent more than $80 million to shape public opinion in Colorado. It hasn’t stopped. The problem is that natural gas is methane. And methane is 80 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide is in the first 20 years that it is in the atmosphere. Anyone who has gone outside this summer can feel that climate chaos is here. The only way to shift course is to transition away from natural gas and all other fossil fuels as quickly as possible. Don’t vote for the right to whale oil. This November, vote “no” on Amendment 82.

— Kate Christensen, Lafayette