Land Rights

Yes, it is odd to hear all these talking heads on TV, all these nattering nabobs of negativity, telling me that I have to cooperate with the devil or die. And if I don't cooperate with the devil I will also die. So there is just no hope for me. I might as well be dead because the landowner has us surrounded on every side, as if we were his prisoners, as if drilling were our fault, as if the potential for environmental damage were an imminent reality. No, it is really not up to us. The oil companies, they are the ones who take surveys of the land. They are the ones who decide whether the prospects are good or not. They are the ones who will negotiate the lease of land for drilling if necessary. They are the ones who really should take care not to spill oil and if they do to compensate for damages. They are the ones who will seem a lot like the waterman who comes to our house to check the city water meter. We have to give the waterman access to the city water meter outside. Same thing sort of. And we also have to pay for the water. You don't have to pay for the oil, you just won't get the royalties. I also probably won't live long enough to see the royalties and it is not something to arrange my life around. I am not a multinational corporation who has diversified interests and income sources. I cannot afford to put my entire life on hold to wait for oil drilling when everyone says there is nothing there anyway. It is a sentimental thing to us, something about my grandfather's deal with the banks. We do not require landowners to prove themselves "good" people in order to do farming and ranching. The same should be true for us.