Quantcast
Powered by RebelMouse

Film Exposes Harsh Reality of Living Amid North Dakota's Oil Boom

Brandon Baker
Mar. 12, 2014 03:55PM EST Energy

North Dakota is the fastest growing state in the U.S., but a recent video exposes why some will want to stay away from the Great Plains state.

The Dakota Resource Council’s (DRC) short film, This Is Our Country: Living with the Wild West Oil Boom, shows how North Dakota rose to become the No. 2 oil producer in the nation behind Texas and the impact that ascension has had on residents.

From housing and food prices to air quality, there seems to be few aspects of North Dakota life that oil hasn't influenced. Farmers, retirees and professors are among those who provide their impressions of the state's oil boom over the film's 30-minute course.

Theodora Bird Bear, chair of the DRC Oil & Gas Task Force, says she prefers the word "cost" as opposed to "impact" because the boom is costing current residents their quality of life and will present even greater damage to future generations.

"This is like immediate money for the state and for the local governments," Bear said. "The long-term cost, the degradation of air quality is not an issue (for oil companies) ... It's a cost somebody will be absorbing and it will not be the industry.

"It will be the children and our grandchildren."

Gasland director Josh Fox posted the DRC film on his blog this week. Each week, he posts a video that shows the harm of oil and fracking.

One of the nation's largest-ever oil spills took place in September in Tioga, ND, with more than 20,600 barrels of oil fracked from the Bakken Shale spewing from a Tesoro Logistics pipeline. A month later, an Associated Press report showed that hundreds of spills in the state went unreported in 2012 and 2013.

Visit EcoWatch’s FRACKING pages for more related news on this topic.

energy pipelines fracking

EcoWatch Daily Newsletter

coral reefs

Report Details Climate Crisis Impacts on Coral Reefs, Warns of 'Human Tragedy'

Oceans
A new report spotlights a U.N. estimate that at least 275 million people rely on healthy coral reefs. A sea turtle near the Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef is seen above. THE OCEAN AGENCY / XL CATLIN SEAVIEW SURVEY

By Jessica Corbett

In a new report about how the world's coral reefs face "the combined threats of climate change, pollution, and overfishing" — endangering the future of marine biodiversity — a London-based nonprofit calls for greater global efforts to end the climate crisis and ensure the survival of these vital underwater ecosystems.

Read More
climate crisis overfishing biodiversity marine life coral reefs oceans sea turtles fish fishing
waste

World Consumption of Natural Resources Tops 110 Billion Tons a Year for the First Time

Climate
Half of the extracted resources used were sand, clay, gravel and cement, seen above, for building, along with the other minerals that produce fertilizer. Cavan Images / Cavan / Getty Images

The world is using up more and more resources and global recycling is falling. That's the grim takeaway from a new report by the Circle Economy think tank, which found that the world used up more than 110 billion tons, or 100.6 billion metric tons, of natural resources, as Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Read More
natural resources cement building economy davos world economic forum recycling coal oil gas oil and gas waste
Sponsored
renewable energy

Climate-Friendly Heating: How to Stay Warm Without Fossil Fuels

Climate

By Gero Rueter

Heating with coal, oil and natural gas accounts for around a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. But that's something we can change, says Wolfgang Feist, founder of the Passive House Institute in the western German city of Darmstadt.

Read More
coal greenhouse gases fossil fuels renewable energy climate change solar wind hydropower paris agreement
public health

Drug Epidemic: Death Toll May Be Twice as High as Previously Thought​

Health + Wellness
Researchers estimate that 142,000 people died due to drug use in 2016. Markus Spiske / Unsplash

By George Citroner

  • Recent research finds that official government figures may be underestimating drug deaths by half.
  • Researchers estimate that 142,000 people died due to drug use in 2016.
  • Drug use decreases life expectancy after age 15 by 1.4 years for men and by just under 1 year for women, on average.

Government records may be severely underreporting how many Americans die from drug use, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University.

Read More
health drugs big pharma pharmaceuticals public health opioids alcohol
drinking water

Forever Chemicals Contaminate More Drinking Water Than Previously Reported

Health + Wellness
Water coolers in front of shut-off water fountains at Center School in Stow, MA on Sept. 4, 2019 after elevated levels of PFAS were found in the water. David L. Ryan / The Boston Globe via Getty Images

In a new nationwide assessment of drinking water systems, the Environmental Working Group found that toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS are far more prevalent than previously thought.

Read More
drinking water pfas public health epa