There's an old saying in Colorado about cows.
The odor in the air isn't the smell of manure,
it's the smell of money. The new smell (or
lack of smell until they add it) is natural
gas. Hundreds of drilling rigs like these
light up the night like sentinels all the way
from Rifle to Parachute sprouting boom towns
along the way. Housing costs four times in
Rifle as it does in Grand Junction as a result.
Some are worried that it will affect the drinking
water in the area but of course, money talks and
as long as they are bringing up the gas it will
continue to talk. Although there's no drilling
in Grand Junction, the area is affected as well
and as the biggest city in the area, it's a bit
of a boomtown as well. Most of the big banks
are in Grand Junction and all that money has to be
kept somewhere. Also, all of the roughnecks and
their families have to shop and spend their
money somewhere...so Grand Junction is where
it's at. There have been booms and busts here
for the past 100 years and some say this is just
one of many. But...if the price of oil stays
high (which most believe it will) and if natural
gas prices remain high (especially with new forms
of usage including that for hybrid cars) this boom
may be with us for quite a while.
