The Texas Energy Revolt - Jim Malewitz

<!DOCTYPE html>     <html class="no-js">  <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575.html","20150615073319","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1434353599"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta charset="utf-8"/><meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"/> <title>The Texas Energy Revolt - Jim Malewitz - POLITICO Magazine</title> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=0"/> <meta property="og:title" content="The Texas Energy Revolt"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575.html"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://images.politico.com/global/2014/12/15/141215_malewitz_shale_gty.jpg"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="POLITICO Magazine"/> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="1423506057871638"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Cathy McMullen taps the brakes of her white Toyota Prius after driving through a neighborhood of mostly one-story homes in Denton, Texas, about an hour northwest of Dallas. &ldquo;There,&rdquo; she says, nodding toward a limestone wall shielding from view a pad of gas wells. McMullen, a 56-year-old &shy;&shy;&shy;&shy;home health nurse, cruised past..."/> <meta property="twitter:title" content="The Texas Energy Revolt"/> <meta name="keywords" content="Letter From Denton,Letter From ...,Oil,Natural Gas,George P. Bush, Jim Malewitz"/> <meta name="news_keywords" content="Letter From Denton,Letter From ...,Oil,Natural Gas,George P. Bush, Jim Malewitz"/> <meta name="description" content="Cathy McMullen taps the brakes of her white Toyota Prius after driving through a neighborhood of mostly one-story homes in Denton, Texas, about an hour northwest of Dallas. “There,” she says, nodding toward a limestone wall shielding from view a pad of gas wells. McMullen, a 56-year-old home health nurse, cruised past..."/> <meta name="author" content="Jim Malewitz"/> <link rel="image_src" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://images.politico.com/global/2014/12/15/141215_malewitz_shale_gty.jpg"> <meta name="publish_date" content="2014-12-15 20:24:09.62"/> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319cs_/http://www.politico.com/css/magazine/style.css"/>  <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://tk.politico.com/gey2nak.js"></script>  <script type="text/javascript">try{Typekit.load();}catch(e){}</script>  <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://www.politico.com/js/magazine/libraries/modernizr-2.6.2.min.js"></script>  <script src="//web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.9.1/jquery.min.js"></script>  <script>window.jQuery || document.write('<script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/js/magazine/libraries/jquery-1.9.1.min.js"><\/script>')</script>  <script> if (Modernizr.touch) { document.write('<script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/js/magazine/libraries/jquery-mobile-1.4.5.min.js"><\/script>') } </script> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://www.politico.com/js/magazine/preload.min.js"></script>    <script src="//web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=politico.com"></script>  <script src="//web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://cdn.optimizely.com/js/553701075.js"></script>  <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://www.politico.com/design/magazine/favicon/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144×144" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://www.politico.com/design/magazine/favicon/apple-touch-icon-144x144-precomposed.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="114×114" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://www.politico.com/design/magazine/favicon/apple-touch-icon-114x114-precomposed.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="72×72" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://www.politico.com/design/magazine/favicon/apple-touch-icon-72x72-precomposed.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="57x57" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://www.politico.com/design/magazine/favicon/apple-touch-icon-57x57-precomposed.png"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/rss/magazine.xml" rel="alternate" title="POLITICO Magazine" type="application/rss+xml"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575.html"/>  <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://ad.crwdcntrl.net/5/c=1851/pe=y/var=ccauds"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://www.politico.com/js/magazine/ads.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var PP_pagekey = 'magazine-story';var adstruct_all_ads = '{"x01":{"MODULEID":"magazine-story_x01","TILE":"2","DCCAT":"null","ISFLEX":true,"SZ":"[[300,250],[300,600],[300,1050]]","POS":"1","PG":"magazine-story"},"x02":{"MODULEID":"magazine-story_x02","TILE":"3","DCCAT":"null","ISFLEX":true,"SZ":"[[300,250],[300,600],[300,1050]]","POS":"2","PG":"magazine-story"},"x05":{"MODULEID":"magazine-story_x05","TILE":"1","DCCAT":"null","ISFLEX":false,"SZ":"[[728,90],[970,90],[970,250],[320,50]]","POS":"1","PG":"magazine-story"}}'; load_ad(adstruct_all_ads); </script> <script>var _allowShare = true;</script> <link rel="author" href="https://plus.google.com/+POLITICO/posts"/><script> $(document).ready(function(){ $.fn.commonWidgetsLoadDivViaXml("https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/includes/xml/widgetMagazineMostPopular.xml"+cacheBuster(300)); }); </script> <script> </script> <script> $(document).ready(function(){ $.fn.commonWidgetsLoadDivViaXml("https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/includes/xml/widgetMagazineGlobalSponsoredContent.xml"+cacheBuster(300), "magazine-story"); }); </script> <script> $(document).ready(function(){ $.fn.commonWidgetsLoadDivViaXml("https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/includes/xml/incMagazineStoryTeasebox.xml"+cacheBuster(300)); }); </script> </head> <body class="template-story " id="pageFeatureStory"> <div class="global-wrapper">  <header class="global-header" role="banner"> <div class="global-header-inner"> <div class="global-branding"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine" title="Home"> <h1>POLITICO Magazine</h1> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://www.politico.com/design/magazine/template/logo@2x.png" alt="POLITICO Magazine"/> </a> </div> <nav class="global-nav menu reveal-at-medium reveal-at-large reveal-at-extra"> <h6 class="menu-toggle"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-menu"></b><span class="icon-text">Menu</span></h6> <div class="menu-content"> <ul class="primary-nav" role="navigation"> <li class="nav-latest"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/index.html#superLatest">Our Latest</a></li> <li class="nav-search"><a class="collapse-toggle" href="#superSearch">Search</a></li> <li class="nav-signup"><a class="collapse-toggle" href="#superNewsletter">Email Signup</a></li> <li class="nav-politico"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/">POLITICO.com</a></li> </ul> <ul class="social-nav"> <li class="nav-facebook"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/https://www.facebook.com/politicomag"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-facebook"></b><span class="icon-text">Like On Facebook</span></a></li> <li class="nav-twitter"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/https://twitter.com/politicomag"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-twitter"></b><span class="icon-text">Follow On Twitter</span></a></li> <li class="nav-linkedin"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.linkedin.com/company/politico"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-linkedin"></b><span class="icon-text">Network On LinkedIn</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </nav> </div> </header> <div class="super low-contrast can-collapse with-close-button" id="superSearch"> <div class="super-inner"> <div class="content layout-full"> <section class="content-group site-search"> <form class="simple-form" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://dyn.politico.com/magazine/search" method="get"> <fieldset> <label for="searchTerm">Search Term:</label> <input type="search" name="key" id="searchTerm"/> <button type="submit" class="button">Search</button> </fieldset> </form> </section> </div> </div> </div> <div class="super low-contrast can-collapse with-close-button" id="superNewsletter"> <div class="super-inner"> <div class="content layout-full"> <section class="content-group newsletter-signup"> <form class="simple-form" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/signup/signupAlerts.cfm?output=json" method="post" id="superNewsletterForm"> <h6>Sign up for POLITICO Magazine's weekly email: The Friday Cover</h6> <fieldset> <label for="newsletterEmail">Email Address:</label> <input type="email" name="emailAddress" id="emailAddress" required/> <button type="submit" class="button" id="superNewsletterSubmit">Submit</button> </fieldset> <input type="hidden" name="alerttypeID" value="29"> <input type="hidden" name="referer" value="http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/newsletter/"> <input type="hidden" name="section" value="thefridaycover"> </form> </section> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="super-duper"> <div class="super transparent-guts no-spacing"> <div class="super-inner"> <div class="content layout-full"> <div class="ad"> <div class="ad-slot flex format-horizontal" id="magazine-story_x05"> <script type="text/javascript"> googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("magazine-story_x05"); }); </script> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="super opaque-guts" role="main"> <div class="super-inner"> <article class="content layout-story"> <div class="content-group story-intro"> <div class="story-art alt-layout-wider"> <figure class="thumb"> <div class="fig-graphic"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://images.politico.com/global/2014/12/15/141215_malewitz_shale_gty.jpg" alt=""/> </div> </figure> <div class="summary pos-vertical-bottom pos-horizontal-bleed opacity-30"> <header> <p class="category"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/tag/letter-from-denton">Letter From Denton</a></p> <h1 class=" ">The Texas Energy Revolt</h1> <p class="subhead">The local fight forcing state Republicans to choose between two things Texans hold dear: local sovereignty and petroleum.</p> </header> <footer class="meta"> <p class="byline">By JIM MALEWITZ</p> <p class="timestamp"><time datetime="2014-12-15">December 15, 2014</time></p> </footer> </div> </div> <div class="photo-credits"> <p class="credit-photo"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-photo"></b>Lead image by Getty.</p> </div> </div> <div class="content-group story-core sticky-wrapper"> <div class="user-tools alt-layout-vertical sticky-content"> <ul class="share-tools tools-list" data-share-url="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575.html"> <li class="share-facebook"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://api.addthis.com/oexchange/0.8/forward/facebook/offer?pco=tbx32nj-1.0"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-facebook"></b><span class="icon-text count-facebook">Facebook</span></a></li> <li class="share-twitter"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://api.addthis.com/oexchange/0.8/forward/twitter/offer?pco=tbx32nj-1.0&text=The%20Texas%20Energy%20Revolt"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-twitter"></b><span class="icon-text count-twitter">Twitter</span></a></li> <li class="share-linkedin"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://api.addthis.com/oexchange/0.8/forward/linkedin/offer?pco=tbxnj-1.0"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-linkedin"></b><span class="icon-text count-linkedin">LinkedIn</span></a></li> </ul> <ul class="utility-tools tools-list"> <li class="utility-email"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/mailto:/?subject=The Texas Energy Revolt&body=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575.html"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-email"></b><span class="icon-text">Email</span></a></li> <li class="utility-comment"><a href="#superComments" class="collapse-toggle"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-comment"></b><span class="icon-text">Comment</span></a></li> <li class="utility-pages"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575_full.html"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-pages"></b><span class="icon-text">One Page</span></a></li> <li class="utility-print"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575_full.html?print"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-print"></b><span class="icon-text">Print</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="story-text has-drop-cap"> <div class="shifty-wrapper empty-at-base empty-at-small empty-at-medium" data-set="shifty-story-widgets"></div> <p>Cathy McMullen taps the brakes of her white Toyota Prius after driving through a neighborhood of mostly one-story homes in Denton, Texas, about an hour northwest of Dallas. “There,” she says, nodding toward a limestone wall shielding from view a pad of gas wells. McMullen, a 56-year-old home health nurse, cruised past a stretch of yellowed grass and weeds. “They could have put that pad site on that far corner right there,” she says, pointing ahead. “The land’s all vacant.”</p> <div class="shifty-wrapper empty-at-large empty-at-extra" data-set="shifty-story-widgets"> <div class="story-interrupt format-s pos-right shifty-content"> <div class="ad"> <div class="ad-slot flex format-vertical" id="magazine-story_x01"></div> </div> <aside class="widget widget-popular"> <header class="widget-header"> <h2>Most Popular</h2> <p>Top Stories, Videos & Photos</p> </header> <div class="widget-content" id="widgetMagazineMostPopular"> <ol class="rank-list"> <li><h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/white-house-correspondents-dinner-117287.html?ml=m_po">Nerd prom is a mess</a></h3></li> <li><h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2015/04/i-want-to-be-with-the-circus/002185-031134.html?ml=m_po">'I Want to Be With the Circus'</a></h3></li> <li><h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/what-made-loretta-lynchs-father-see-red-117308.html?ml=m_po">What made Loretta Lynch's father see red</a></h3></li> <li><h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/mike-huckabee-us-criminalization-of-christianity-117310.html?ml=m_po">Mike Huckabee: U.S. moving toward 'criminalization of Christianity'</a></h3></li> <li><h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/world-war-obama-117303.html?ml=m_po">World War O</a></h3></li> </ol> </div> </aside> </div> </div> <p>Instead, the wells sit on the corner of Bonnie Brea and Scripture Street. Across the way: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Across another street: the basketball court, picnic tables and purple playground of McKenna Park. That was where Range Resources, a company based in Fort Worth, wanted to drill and frack three wells in 2009.</p> <p>McMullen, who at that time had just moved into a house about 1,500 feet away from the proposed site, joined others in raising concerns about bringing the gas industry and hydraulic fracturing—widely known as fracking—so close to where kids play. Fracking, which involves blasting apart underground rock with millions of gallons of chemical-laced water to free up oil and gas, “is a brutal, brutal process for people living around it,” McMullen says. </p> <div id="widgetMagazineGlobalSponsoredContent" class="p3Global"> </div> <p>Their efforts in city hall failed.</p> <p>If McMullen felt invisible five years ago, she doesn’t anymore. Today, state lawmakers, the oil and gas industry and national environmental groups have become acutely aware of Denton, home to two universities, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.cityofdenton.com/departments-services/departments-g-p/gas-well-inspections/gas-well-sites">277 gas wells</a> and now, thanks to a ragtag group of local activists, Texas’ first ban on fracking.</p> <p>Thrust into the saga is George P. Bush, who in January will take the helm of the Texas General Land Office, an <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.texastribune.org/2014/10/28/once-obscure-agency-rises-prominence/">otherwise obscure office</a> that manages mineral rights on millions of acres of state-owned property. In his first political office, Jeb’s eldest son, George W.’s nephew and one of George H.W.’s <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-17/news/mn-655_1_pride">“little brown ones,”</a> will inherit one of two major lawsuits filed against Denton, home to a sliver of that mineral portfolio.</p> <p>“<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.texastribune.org/2014/07/25/denton-fracking-ban-could-spur-wider-legal-clash/">We don’t need a patchwork </a>approach to drilling regulations across the state,” Bush, a former energy investment consultant, told the <em>Texas Tribune</em> in July as the anti-fracking campaign gained steam. It appears to be his only public statement on the issue.</p> <p>Bush’s role in the dispute—however peripheral—only brightens the spotlight on Denton, and it forces him and others to choose between two interests Texans hold dear: petroleum and local control.</p> <p>McMullen’s group—Frack Free Denton—convinced nearly 59 percent of Denton voters to approve a fracking ban on November 4, after knocking on doors, staging puppet shows and performing song-and-dance numbers. The movement had help from Earthworks, a national environmental group, but its opponents—backed by the oil and gas lobby—raised more than $700,000 to spend on mailers and television ads and a high-profile public relations and polling firm. That was more than 10 times what Frack Free Denton collected.</p> <p>The town had company on Election Day. Voters in Athens, Ohio, and two California counties—three of the seven other communities that weighed in nationally—rejected the practice. To supporters, the North Texas city has taken a stand for clean air, clean water, public safety and quality of life. To opponents, the ban is the result of activists sowing fear and misinformation, threatening the economy and confiscating property—mineral rights—thousands of feet below ground.</p> <p>But if the ban in Denton (population: 123,000) isn’t the biggest play in the national debate, it’s certainly the most interesting.</p> <p>This is Texas, after all. The state was built on oil and gas and is at the forefront of the most recent fossil fuels bonanza. Though threatened by plummeting oil prices in recent months, the Lone Star State is pumping more than twice the oil it did three years ago—more than 700 million barrels of crude in 2013—accounting for more than a third of all U.S. production. It also produces about a quarter of the nation’s natural gas, more than 7 trillion cubic feet last year.</p> <p>“If Denton wasn’t followed by two little letters—TX—no one would give a hill of beans about it,” says Chris Faulkner, chief executive of Breitling Energy in Dallas. Breitling has no direct financial interests in Denton, but Faulkner is among those in the industry who fear Texas could see more urban drilling communities “run amok.”</p> <p>“You can already hear the environmentalists saying, ‘If we can win in Denton, we can win anywhere,’” he says.</p> <p align="center">***</p> <p><strong>Denton sits on the northern edge</strong> of the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.texastribune.org/tribpedia/barnett-shale/about/">Barnett Shale</a>, which stretches some 5,000 square miles beneath at least 25 Texas counties and pumps millions of dollars into state and local economies. That includes Wise County, which shares Denton County’s western border. It’s where George P. Mitchell pioneered the combination of horizontal drilling and fracking in use today.</p> <p>Unlike other cities that rejected fracking, Denton residents have spent years alongside gas wells, rather than simply reading about them. Well pads sit near homes, schools and even across the street from Apogee Stadium, where the University of North Texas’ Mean Green plays football. (Three hulking wind turbines also loom over the stadium.)</p> <p>The ban hasn’t completely turned off the spigot on Denton’s natural gas, but production will dwindle as long as it’s in place. Without fracking, companies cannot stimulate gas locked in the Barnett Shale. Operators can keep pumping from wells they had already drilled and fracked, but they can’t frack them again. Without that option, the flow weakens over time. Meanwhile, companies are unlikely to drill any new wells that can’t be fracked.</p> <p>Not every oilman fears Denton’s vote could, in Faulkner’s words, unleash a “tsunami of exclusion” elsewhere. A few days before the vote, T. Boone Pickens <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.texastribune.org/2014/10/29/boone-pickens-tt-interview/">told the <em>Texas Tribune</em></a> that closing off Denton to fracking “would mean a lot to those landowners there, but not to anybody else.”</p> <footer class="author-bio"> <p><em>Jim Malewitz covers energy for the </em>Texas Tribune<em>, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization. </em><em>Disclosure: T. Boone Pickens has been a major donor to the </em>Texas Tribune<em>. A complete list of </em>Tribune<em> donors and sponsors can be viewed </em><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.texastribune.org/support-us/donors-and-members/">here</a><em>.</em></p> </footer> </div> <nav class="story-nav"> <div class="story-actions"> <a class="button continue-reading" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575_Page2.html">Continue Reading »</a> </div> <div class="pagination"> <h6>Page:</h6> <ol> <li class="current"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575.html">1</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575_Page2.html">2</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575_Page3.html">3</a></li> </ol> </div> </nav> </div> </article> </div> </div> <div class="super opaque-guts"> <div class="super-inner"> <div class="content layout-unequal-extended"> <div class="content-primary"> <section class="content-group story-categories"> <div class="related-categories"> <h6>This story tagged under:</h6> <ul class="related-categories-list"> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/tag/letter-from-denton">Letter From Denton</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/tag/letter-from-">Letter From ...</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/tag/oil">Oil</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/tag/natural-gas">Natural Gas</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/tag/george-p-bush">George P. Bush</a> </li> </ul> </div> </section> <section class="content-group story-credits"> <div class="roll-credits"> <h6>Additional credits:</h6> <p class="credit-photo"><b aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-photo"></b>Lead image by Getty.</p> </div> </section> <section class="content-group more-stories" id="incMagazineStoryTeasebox"> <header class="content-header"> <h1>More from POLITICO Magazine</h1> </header> <ul class="story-list format-xs alt-layout-wider"> <li> <article> <figure class="thumb"> <div class="fig-graphic"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2015/04/i-want-to-be-with-the-circus/002185-031134.html?ml=m_mm"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://images.politico.com/global/2015/04/20/1_kennerly_1996_clintons-extended-gray1.jpg" alt=""/></a> </div> </figure> <div class="summary"> <header> <p class="category"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/tag/photo-essay">PHOTO ESSAY</a></p> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2015/04/i-want-to-be-with-the-circus/002185-031134.html?ml=m_mm">50 Years of Campaign Photography </a></h3> </header> <div class="meta"> <p class="byline"> By DAVID HUME KENNERLY </p> </div>  </div> </article> </li> <li> <article> <figure class="thumb"> <div class="fig-graphic"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/jeb-bush-reporters-florida-schooled-the-press-117004.html?ml=m_mm"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://images.politico.com/global/2015/04/22/jeb-bush-for-the-web1.jpg" alt=""/></a> </div> </figure> <div class="summary"> <header> <p class="category"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/tag/the-politico-mag-profile">The POLITICO Mag Profile</a></p> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/jeb-bush-reporters-florida-schooled-the-press-117004.html?ml=m_mm">How Jeb Bush Schooled the Florida Press</a></h3> </header> <div class="meta"> <p class="byline"> By S.V. DÁTE</p> </div>  </div> </article> </li> <li> <article class="sponsored-wrapper"> <figure class="thumb"> <div class="fig-graphic"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://politi.co/1ITfw8K?ml=m_mm"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://images.politico.com/global/2015/04/17/screen-shot-2015-04-17-at-51231-pm.jpg" alt=""/></a> </div> </figure> <div class="summary"> <header> <p class="category"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://politi.co/1ITfw8K">Sponsored Content</a></p> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://politi.co/1ITfw8K?ml=m_mm">New Orleans, reinvented</a></h3> </header>  </div> </article> </li> </ul> </section> <section class="content-group show-comments"> <div class="content-actions"> <a class="button is-large is-full-bleed collapse-toggle view-comments" href="#superComments">View <span data-disqus-identifier="pstory-113575"></span> Comments</a> </div> </section> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="super opaque-guts can-collapse" id="superComments" role="main"> <div class="super-inner"> <div class="content layout-unequal-extended"> <div class="content-primary"> <section class="content-group all-comments"> <div class="comments-embed">  <div id="disqus_thread"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> /* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * */ var disqus_config = function () { this.sso = { name: "POLITICO", url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://dyn.politico.com/login/?disqus=1", logout: "https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://dyn.politico.com/login/?logout=1", button: "https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/design/logo/disqus-sso-login-button.png" }; var _MEMBERDISQUS = ReadCookie('MEMBERDISQUS'); this.page.remote_auth_s3 = decodeURIComponent(_MEMBERDISQUS); this.page.api_key = "RLP03fdpJkHmaKVNP4M3oMQh7LG8jhT4Vg6ZPwmtewLLCJGptBnRKumAPq5NjUPm"; this.page.disqus_sort = "newest";//best=best rating,hot=popular now,oldest=oldest first }; var disqus_shortname = 'politico'; var disqus_url = "https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575.html"; var disqus_title = "The Texas Energy Revolt"; var disqus_identifier = 'pstory-199983'; var disqus_per_page = 10; /* * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * */ (function() { var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true; dsq.src = '//' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq); })(); </script> <noscript>Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://disqus.com/?ref_noscript">comments powered by Disqus.</a></noscript> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://disqus.com/" class="dsq-brlink">comments powered by <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span></a>  </div> </section> </div> <div class="content-secondary"> <div class="ad"> <div class="ad-slot flex format-vertical" id="magazine-story_x02"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <footer class="global-footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="global-footer-inner"> <nav class="footer-group"> <ul class="footer-nav" role="navigation"> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/index.html#superLatest">Our Latest</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/newsletter">Weekly Newsletter</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/table-of-contents-archive">Print Archive</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/archive">Web Archive</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/aboutus">About Us</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/write-for-us">Write For Us</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine/frequently-asked-questions">FAQ</a></li> </ul> </nav> <div class="footer-group"> <div class="menu reveal-at-large reveal-at-extra"> <h5 class="menu-toggle">POLITICO Links</h5> <div class="menu-content"> <div class="additional-links"> <nav class="additional-nav additional-news" role="navigation"> <h6><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/?ml=fo">News</a></h6> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/?ml=fo">POLITICO Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/magazine?ml=fo">Magazine</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/2014-election/results/map/senate/#.VD_DDvnF-So?ml=fo">Elections</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/congress?ml=fo">Congress</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/multimedia/?ml=fo">Video</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/https://www.politicopro.com/">POLITICO Pro</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://capitalnewyork.com/">Capital New York</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/events/?ml=fo">Events</a></li> </ul></nav> <nav class="additional-nav additional-blogscolumnscartoons" role="navigation"> <h6><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/?ml=fo">Blogs, Columns & Cartoons</a></h6> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/pages/simon-says/?ml=fo">Roger Simon</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/blogs/media?ml=fo">Dylan Byers</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/?ml=fo">Josh Gerstein</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/pages/kgbfile?ml=fo">The KGB File</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/tag/rich-lowry?ml=fo">Rich Lowry</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/wuerker/?ml=fo">Matt Wuerker</a></li> </ul></nav> <nav class="additional-nav additional-tipsheets" role="navigation"> <h6><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/tipsheets?ml=fo">Tipsheets</a></h6> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/2016blast/?ml=fo">The 2016 Blast </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/playbook?ml=fo">Playbook</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/huddle/?ml=fo">Huddle</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/p/magazine/newsletter/?ml=fo">The Friday Cover</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/politicoinfluence/?ml=fo">Influence</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningagriculture/?ml=fo">Morning Agriculture</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningcybersecurity/?ml=fo">Morning Cybersecurity</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningdefense/?ml=fo">Morning Defense</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningeducation/?ml=fo">Morning Education</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningehealth/?ml=fo">Morning eHealth</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningenergy/?ml=fo">Morning Energy</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningmoney/?ml=fo">Morning Money</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningscore/?ml=fo">Morning Score</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningshift?ml=fo">Morning Shift</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningtax/?ml=fo">Morning Tax</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningtech/?ml=fo">Morning Tech</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningtrade?ml=fo">Morning Trade</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/morningtransportation/?ml=fo">Morning Transportation</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/politicopulse/?ml=fo">Pulse</a></li> </ul></nav> <nav class="additional-nav additional-policy" role="navigation"> <h6><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politicopro.com/">Policy</a></h6> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/agriculture/?ml=fo">Agriculture</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/https://www.politicopro.com/campaigns/">Campaigns</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/cybersecurity/?ml=fo">Cybersecurity</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/defense/?ml=fo">Defense</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/education/?ml=fo">Education</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/ehealth/?ml=fo">eHealth</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/energy/?ml=fo">Energy & Environment</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/money/?ml=fo">Finance</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/healthcare/?ml=fo">Health Care</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/labor/?ml=fo">Labor & Employment</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/technology/?ml=fo">Technology</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/trade/?ml=fo">Trade</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/transportation/?ml=fo">Transportation & Infrastructure</a></li> </ul></nav> <nav class="additional-nav additional-more double" role="navigation"> <h6><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/?ml=fo">More Info</a></h6> <ul class="first"> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/about/?ml=fo">About Us</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/about/advertising/?ml=fo">Advertising</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://dyn.politico.com/login/?ml=fo">Breaking News Alerts</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?bypass=true&PBID=74262970-aa07-44b3-80c8-21fa8a8ac376">Digital Edition</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/employment/?ml=fo">Employment</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/faq/?ml=fo">FAQ</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/aboutus/feedback.html?ml=fo">Feedback</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/headlines/?ml=fo">Headlines</a></li> </ul><ul class="last"> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/gallery/?ml=fo">Photos</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.powerjobs.com/">POWERJobs</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/about/press/blog/?ml=fo">Press</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://dyn.politico.com/login/?ml=fo">Register</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/rss/?ml=fo">RSS/Widgets</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/sitemap/?ml=fo">Site Map</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.cafepress.com/thepolitico">Store</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/subscriptions/?ml=fo">Subscriptions</a></li> </ul></nav>  </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="footer-group footer-legal"> <p class="copyright">© 2015 POLITICO LLC</p> <ul class="legal-links"> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/termsofservice/">Terms of Service</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://www.politico.com/privacy/">Privacy Policy</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319im_/http://images.politico.com/global/v2/shadowright.gif" width="0" height="0" alt=""/> </footer> </div> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://www.politico.com/js/magazine/plugins.min.js"></script> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://www.politico.com/js/magazine/main.min.js"></script> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://www.politico.com/js/magazine/magazine.js"></script>    <script type="text/javascript"> var quantSegs=""; function qc_callback(result) { for (var i = 0; i < result.segments.length; i++) { quantSegs += 'qcseg=' + result.segments[i].id + ';'; } } </script>  <script type="text/javascript"> var pubId=27180; var pixId=41; </script> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://ads.pubmatic.com/AdServer/js/universalpixel.js" type="text/javascript"> </script>    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://tcr.tynt.com/javascripts/Tracer.js?user=bKDyiUp9mr3OhNab7jrHcU&s=22"></script>  <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>   <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/http://www.politico.com/omtr_code.js?v=8&ver=10"></script> <script type="text/javascript"></script>    <script type="text/javascript"> var _sf_async_config={}; /** CONFIGURATION START **/ _sf_async_config.authors = "Jim Malewitz"; _sf_async_config.uid = "33430"; _sf_async_config.path = "/magazine/story/2014/12/texas-fracking-ban-113575.html"; _sf_async_config.domain = "politico.com"; _sf_async_config.sections = "magazine"; /** CONFIGURATION END **/ (function(){ function loadChartbeat() { window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime(); var e = document.createElement("script"); e.setAttribute("language", "javascript"); e.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript"); e.setAttribute("src", (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/https://a248.e.akamai.net/chartbeat.download.akamai.com/102508/" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319/http://static.chartbeat.com/") + "js/chartbeat.js"); document.body.appendChild(e); } var oldonload = window.onload; window.onload = (typeof window.onload != "function") ? loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); }; })(); </script>  <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150615073319js_/https://tags.crwdcntrl.net/c/2641/cc.js?ns=_cc2641" id="LOTCC_2641"></script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">_cc2641.bcp();</script>  <script type="text/javascript"> setCookie("ar_pstory113575",true,3); </script> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

The Texas Energy Revolt - Jim Malewitz - POLITICO Magazine