The Greeley Tribune reports that Rep. Gabe Evans and allies are making Weld County the epicenter of Colorado’s energy rebellion. Evans’ pitch: strip away the red tape strangling oil and gas, stop punishing the industries that power paychecks, and unleash the energy potential under Coloradans’ boots. At a town hall, Evans touted deregulation as both an economic and national security imperative, while also staking out a surprising rally point for conservatives: nuclear energy.
Evans points to Weld County’s dominance in production – 80% of Colorado’s oil comes from here – and argues that Colorado Democrats’ layers of regulation have turned energy development into a paperwork obstacle course. Meanwhile, China burns coal like it’s going out of style and races ahead in tech. The choice, Evans argues, is simple: free up American energy or get steamrolled by Beijing.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Weld County pumps out 80% of Colorado’s oil, yet the state buries producers in duplicative permits from the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act.
- From 2024–2025, drilling permits in Weld shot up 42%, bringing more than 3,100 new wells online. Imagine what that could be without Polis’ paperwork chokehold.
- Critics say oil and gas drives 60% of Colorado’s pollution – Evans fires back that much of it drifts in from Canada and China. Translation: stop blaming Greeley for Beijing’s smog.
- Evans argues “energy security is national security” and warns that dithering only hands China the keys to the future.
- He’s not just talking oil: Evans backs nuclear as clean, safe, and job-creating, pointing to tech that makes modern reactors far safer than the scare-mongering suggests.
My Bottom Line
On this one, I’m 100% with Rep. Evans. DEREGULATE. Unleash the energy under Weld County’s feet and watch Colorado thrive. Polis and his ruling-class Democrats have punished industry and consumers long enough with their “regulate harder” religion. They’re so busy worshipping at the altar of climate purity they’ve forgotten that people actually need jobs, fuel, and power bills they can pay.
And nuclear? I’ve said it before: I’m all in. If you want clean, reliable, 24/7 power, it’s the only technology that actually delivers without fairy tales and subsidies. So yes, let’s frack, let’s drill, let’s split some atoms while we’re at it. Because the alternative is letting China light our future while Colorado Democrats keep us in the dark.
