Development, Loss Of Our American Soul

The past decade has brought sweeping changes to the high plains—the Big Empty sweeping westward from the Dakotas to the Rocky Mountains. Energy production has driven much of the change as drilling for gas and oil, and coal mining have been ramped up to meet the nation’s insatiable demand for fuel. Development in the form of roads, pipelines and drilling rigs has become part of a landscape once dominated by sagebrush and grazing cattle.

Recently, energy activity on the high plains has been among the few bright spots in the national economy, attracting workers to small towns ill-prepared for a population surge. The flip side is that some folks are concerned the boom is too much of a good thing. A recent issue of Dakota Country magazine notes North Dakota lacks both the community infrastructure and environmental regulations necessary to address the growth occurring in its western counti...
Read the full transcript