Walcher: But that’s where the money is

Willy Sutton famously told a reporter that he robbed banks for one simple reason: “That’s where the money is.” Now, it is as if someone said to him, “You can go ahead and steal money, but not from banks.”

There have always been extremists who want to ban all energy production on public lands, but that is where vast stores of America’s energy resources are located. A potential ban has become more serious this year, as numerous candidates for national office now support a ban.

It started with only the most extreme candidates. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), promised last spring to ban all new oil and gas drilling on federal lands, on her first day in the Oval Office. That set off a “me, too” movement that may find its way to the loftiest positions in government. “Sen. Warren is setting an example of the kind of climate action we expect from candidates running for office,” said one top environmental industry leader.