Push to ban fracking in Colorado falls short

Those organizing a ballot measure that would block fracking in Colorado had to call it quits after failing to gather enough signatures.

Proponents of the measure said an analysis revealed they would not have the necessary signatures to get on the November ballot, The Colorado Observer reports.

{mosads}”With just 9 weeks to get 125,000 signatures — and lacking hundreds of thousands in funding — we knew we faced an uphill battle for 2014,” said lead organizer Cliff Willmeng in a letter to a local Colorado newspaper. “We took a tally this week and now know that we’re going to be well short of where we need to be. Disappointing, yes. But we have just started the fight for our Colorado communities.”

Late last month, New York ruled to allow towns and cities to ban the extraction method.

While the natural gas boom has been touted by the Obama administration as a transition to cleaner energy, residents surrounding drilling sites aren’t as eager to see operations grow.

Opponents of fracking say it contributes greatly to water pollution and climate change, but the industry argues it is safe and will help the U.S. become more energy secure.