When it comes to anti-fossil fuel activism, the city of Boulder, Col. takes a backseat to no one.

This hotbed of anti-fracking enthusiasts joined forces with surrounding Boulder County in 2018 in filing a lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor seeking “damages relating to climate change.” From 2013 to 2018, the Washington Times reported (Jan. 12), Boulder had a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing which was lifted in December but only after the city council had enacted tough new regulations on the oil and gas industry, discouraging any serious production in the hydrocarbon-rich area. And in 2018, Boulder voters approved an oil and gas pollution tax.

Having saved the planet and virtue signaled to their hearts’ content, Boulder residents kicked back and eagerly awaited Utopia’s inevitable arrival.

Baby It’s Cold Outside

Instead, they got a frigid winter, a global natural gas shortage, and skyrocketing costs to heat their homes. The city’s website warned in early January that residential natural gas bills are expected to rise by 37% over last winter and offered some helpful hints to keep costs in check, including lowering the thermostat, washing clothes in cold water, and dressing in layers.

“It’s not just up to your furnace to keep you warm,” the Boulder website’s tip sheet, “Heating Costs Are Rising This Winter: Here’s How to Keep Your Bill Affordable,” informed the city’s residents. “Dressing in layers can keep you warm while relying less on your heat source,” they were advised. Citing projections from Excel Energy, the city said that the average natural gas bill is expected to rise from $71 to about $98 per month, not including electricity costs.

“Behind the bigger bills are higher energy costs nationally and natural gas supply challenges,” the city explained.

How could this have happened?

“Boulder has blocked energy [development] at every turn, pushed statewide policies to ban fracking, and sued energy companies – now they are complaining about the high energy costs and supply challenges they helped create,” tweeted the Colorado GOP.

Where are the vaunted wind turbines and solar panels when they are needed the most? There are plenty of wind turbines and solar panels in Colorado, and more are on the way. But they offer no solution to the problem Boulder and other jurisdictions face. This is the future that has already arrived in Europe, which is facing its biggest energy crisis since the end of World War ll. Like Boulder’s, Europe’s crisis is entirely self-inflicted and isn’t going away anytime soon. This bitter harvest was sown by the climate leaders in the European Union, the Biden administration, Wall Street investors in renewable energy, and incompetent local officials, all of whom know nothing about the climate or energy and are oblivious to the harm they are doing to the ordinary people who bear the brunt of the ruling class’s blindness.