I'm from the area that this concerns, and if anyone wants to know why the tree huggers are so upset check out google maps of the area:<p><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Rifle,+CO&sll=39.333146,-108.213746&sspn=0.053442,0.067978&ie=UTF8&ll=39.507749,-107.910719&spn=0.051719,0.067978&t=h&z=14&iwloc=addr" rel="nofollow">http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&...</a><p>If you look all up and down I-70 and all throughout the region, you'll see tons and tons of dirt roads and big dirt rectangles. Each one of these is a natural gas well. This is a beautiful part of Colorado and Utah, and it's being completely devastated by the development. We call it a "National Sacrifice Area" in my family.
This guy just wasn't smart. If he were, he'd have created a company with an innocuous name like "NextWave" or something. Get some funding (apparently $45k) from environmentalists who don't want to see drilling. Then have NextWave bid on licenses, I mean land parcels that they couldn't pay for. Next, declare bankruptcy so that they didn't have to continue payments to the government. Hold onto the licenses, I mean land parcels until the government decides to settle rather than losing again in a bankruptcy case where someone didn't pay them. They wouldn't get to keep all the land, but they'd get to keep enough that it would be worth their while.<p>Plus, it's the business that's doing this action. Generally speaking, that means the business gets in trouble and not those running it. I'm no lawyer, but it seems like unless you pull an Enron, you don't seem to be individually held accountable.<p>This guy just wasn't smart: <a href="http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/NextWave-FCC-Settle-Wireless-Spectrum-Battle/" rel="nofollow">http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/NextWave-FCC-Se...</a>
Hopefully this inspires some environmentalists with real money to do the same. Gas right now in Ontario is hovering around $0.75 a litre, but last summer it was at $1.49 (I believe was the highest I personally saw it at). I think the more restrictions are placed on oil and the higher the price stays then the less people are going to use. I mean the carpooling lanes actually have cars in now, even with the price of gas being low.<p>Ironically, the more people who carpool the less money all the 'pay $5 to park' lots will get, which will actually mean some <i>new</i> buildings can be built and probably save the economy sooner.
Ignoring if what he did was right or wrong, you have to a admit it is a pretty good social hack.<p>But could it be an even better hack?<p>What if he started a business, leased all that land, after a while filed for bankruptcy because you know the business "earnestly" was going to raise funding for exploration but then that darn financial crisis...<p>Then the bankruptcy preceding drag on for a while and when the leases come up for auction again...
another small company...<p>Rinse and repeat.