July 19, 2012 12:34 AM UTC

Hickenlooper: Fracking Has "Literally No Risk"

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• by: Colorado Pols

Aspen Daily News’ Andrew Travers, conservationists thrown for a (Hicken)loop(er) yet again:

The controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing carries “literally no risk” if done correctly, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said during a conversation that covered his support for natural gas extraction at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference at the Aspen Institute on Tuesday.

Hickenlooper said that the controversial process of “fracking,” which has led to environmental concerns and protests over drilling on public lands in local areas like the Thompson Divide, could lead to cleaner fuel for cars and domestic job growth. Fracking entails injecting a cocktail of water, sand and chemicals under high pressure deep into the ground to break up rock formations and release natural gas.

“Like any industrial process, fracking has some risks but, really, if done properly, certainly out in the West, there is literally no risk – certainly much less than many industrial processes,” he said in a public interview with Fortune magazine’s Andy Serwer… [Pols emphasis]

To summarize your Democratic Governor, hydraulic fracturing has “some risks,” but for reasons we admit we’re not up to speed on, in the West there is “literally no risk”–well, maybe some risk, but “certainly much less” than “many industrial processes.” We’re not sure exactly what those industrial processes would be, but we have to assume there are an awful lot of “industrial processes” out there that carry more than “literally no risk.” Like baking cookies, for example. Have we mentioned recently that Gov. Hickenlooper “took a swig” of fracking fluid himself?

Just remember, he’s better than Tom Tancredo. Shut your eyes, repeat as necessary.