Lynn Granger’s guest commentary in The Denver Post argues that the global energy conversation has moved on, while Colorado’s politics are still stuck in a moralized, bumper-sticker debate about “good” and “bad” energy. Granger says she recently attended an international energy technology meeting hosted by Baker Hughes, and what stood out was how leaders around the world are planning for rising demand, not wishcasting it away.
Her central claim is blunt: global energy demand is growing fast, oil consumption is already near 105 million barrels per day and projected to rise, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects world energy use could rise nearly 50% by 2050. Meanwhile, electricity demand is being reshaped by data centers and AI, with global data center power use on track to more than double in 2026 compared to 2022 levels.
Granger frames the practical path forward as balancing sustainability, affordability, and security, while warning that Colorado’s policy posture is creating uncertainty that drives investment and jobs elsewhere without changing underlying demand.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Granger says the rest of the world is having an adult conversation about energy demand, and Colorado is still arguing like demand is optional. Spoiler: it is not.
- She cites global oil use near 105 million barrels per day and says projections point upward, not downward, even as politics tries to “vote” the math off the island.
- The op-ed leans hard on a three-part reality check: sustainability, affordability, and security. Colorado loves talking about one of those, and then acts surprised when the other two show up to collect the bill.
- She argues oil and natural gas were discussed internationally as enablers for grid stability and economic growth, alongside emissions reductions, not as cartoon villains in a morality play.
- Her warning shot at Colorado is policy uncertainty: permitting, infrastructure, long-term investment signals. Businesses and jobs are mobile, and ideology does not keep payroll in-state.
My Bottom Line
I have nothing to add to this outstanding op-ed by Lynn Granger. I’m highlighting it because it says the quiet part out loud: demand is real, and Colorado policy too often treats physics like a negotiable opinion.
Colorado can talk all day about “the transition,” but transitions that ignore reliability and affordability are not transitions. They are self-inflicted wounds. You do not run a modern economy on vibes, press releases, and permits that never get approved.
If we want lower emissions, fine. Let’s do it with technology, investment, and realism. Let’s build systems that work in the real world, not systems that look good on a donor email.
And my personal opinion? Drill baby, drill.
Source: The Denver Post
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