Letters to the editor for Saturday, May 20, 2017

Energy legislation a close call for Nevadans

Some in Congress just tried to give the oil and gas industry a free pass to waste taxpayers’ money and energy resources through dangerous leaks in methane from oil and gas operations on public lands. What’s worse — Sen. Heller voted in favor of this reckless attack, despite having no Nevada gas industry lobbying him for it, dozens of editorials in Nevada papers against it, and his constituents consistently asking him to vote no.

Heller says he’s a moderate on things like energy, but on this case he took a hard partisan line.

Thankfully, other senators represented their constituents and defeated this reckless legislative giveaway to polluters. Natural gas on federal lands belongs to all American taxpayers. Americans are supposed to get a share of the royalties on those resources, putting more than half that money into our local schools and infrastructure. But companies waste $330 million a year through venting and flaring — enough to power about 5 million homes a year.

Sen. Heller, we deserve better.

Autumn Zemke

Cochair Northern Nevada Working Families Party