North Dakota

The Port of Albany is thriving as a major hub for CBR shipments from the Bakken field in North Dakota and Saskatchewan province. But we learn there are limits to further growth after the city slapped a moratorium on expansion to oil sands from Canada

March 17, 2014 - Climate Progress

The hazards of shipping North Dakotan crude-by-rail have been well documented and are the focus of new DOT regulations due to its volatility, but there's a more positive side to this oil and the trains that deliver it, illustrated in Philadelphia.

March 16, 2014 - NPR Morning Edition

Crude-by-rail from the Bakken shale formation has transformed the sleepy Port of Albany, NY into a major supplier of cheaper crude for East Coast refineries. Jad Mouawad writes two articles on the importance of the port and the dangers from the oil.

March 4, 2014 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

The full declaration on CBR by DOT regulators was “an imminent hazard to public health and safety and the environment." An immediate safety order was issued requiring vigorous testing of crude and prohibition of use of some tanker cars.

February 27, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S.

Propane prices in some parts of the midwest and south had tripled; governors have demanded investigations into price gouging, and shelters have opened for those unable to afford the steep prices increases, yet production increased 15% from last year.

February 10, 2014 - The New York Times

In the first case of its kind, federal regulators fined three oil companies for allegedly either failing to test, or improperly testing crude from the Bakken Shale in N.D., resulting in rail companies not knowing which type of oil tanker cars to use.

February 6, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Crude oil may be flammable, but until recently was not thought to be explosive. However, three recent oil train explosions all involving crude oil from the Bakken formation have prodded investigators to determine why Bakken crude is more explosive.

January 8, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

Harkening back to the long lines at gas stations that erupted after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, followed by diminishing oil production, US crude oil exports were prohibited. With production booming, energy czar Ernest Moniz may reconsider that policy.

December 17, 2013 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

With many oil pipelines stalled due to popular opposition and/or regulatory hurdles (e.g. Keystone XL and Northern Gateway, or even refineries opting for more flexibility) there seemed to be no end to the growth in moving oil by rail...until now.

December 12, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

A pair of articles in The New York Times look at two different kinds of waste generated from North Dakota's booming oil industry: natural gas from oil wells is burned due to the absence of pipelines, and the disposal of waste in landfills.

October 24, 2013 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

The U.S. fertility rate has declined 9% since the onset of the recession in 2007, with births declining every year. The decrease appears to have leveled off last year, a sign of an improved economy, though the change varied among age and race groups.

September 10, 2013 - The New York Times - Health

Paul Craig Cobb was welcomed to a small town in North Dakota when he arrived last year and bought 12 plots of land. Now, his neighbors are distressed since learning of his plans to turn Leith, ND into a white supremacist stronghold.

September 8, 2013 - The New York Times

John Upton notes some startling changes among Gulf oil refineries - the ones that had been clamoring for the Keystone XL pipeline to be built in order to access Canada's oil sands. It's been two years - and the oil is flowing - with or without it.

September 7, 2013 - Grist

In a scene reminiscent of the Denzel Washington movie "Unstoppable", but without the heroic ending, an unmanned, 72-car oil train traveled 7 miles to Lac-Mégantic, pop. 6,000, where it derailed, setting off a fireball downtown. 5 fatalities so far.

July 8, 2013 - The New York Times

Kinder Morgan's proposed $2 billion 'Freedom Pipeline' to transport West Texas oil to California refineries has been rejected - not by a governmental entity as occurred with the Northern Gateway, but by oil refineries opting to ship by rail instead.

June 7, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Contrary to what would seem logical, estimates of oil and natural gas reserves may increase as they are depleted, as the new USGS assessment of recoverable oil reserves in the greater Bakken Basin shows. How does this square with peak oil theory?

May 9, 2013 - MIT Technology Review

Freight rail is booming throughout the U.S. While shipping oil from North Dakota's Bakken shale basin has been a huge factor in the resurgence, Betsy Morris digs deeper and analyzes the surprising competition between road and rail.

March 28, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

The public is increasingly showing support for hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas - and it's reflected at the ballot box as many pro-drilling candidates were elected. In fact, the debate has shifted from banning to what to do with new tax revenue.

November 24, 2012 - USA Today

Oil drilling has brought abundant prosperity to North Dakota over the past few years. Nicholas Kusnetz exposes the impact of weak environmental regulation in the state.

June 10, 2012 - ProPublica

New York Times economics writer and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman analyzes two major reasons for increasing oil drilling - reducing unemployment and lowering gas prices, and describes why it does neither.

March 20, 2012 - The New York Times - The Opinion Pages