Category Archives: Bakken

Two videos illustrate the conflict between fracking and a rural way of life

Posted on April 7, 2014 by davidjkatz

Today we have two videos that provide sobering food for thought. The two together run 37 minutes, and watching them will provide important perspective on how oil and gas drilling transforms the lives of rural communities. The first video is one … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken, Fracking Information, Personal stories | Tagged Bakken, Dakota Resource Council, Dearbhla Glynn, Ireland, personal stories, shale, video | Leave a comment

(Not so) wonderful progress

Posted on March 21, 2014 by davidjkatz

Reader Kurt Voight sends a note: “I have just finished my daily reading of the Gazette on line. In the last 24 hours there have been a number of articles related to wonderful progress: North Dakota (taxpayers) to pay for … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken | Tagged Bakken, drug dealing, methamphetamines, North Dakota, oil spill, pipeline spills, renewable power | Leave a comment

A personal story: Linda Monson, Yellowstone River southwest of Williston, North Dakota

Posted on March 19, 2014 by davidjkatz

“When this first happened, it pretty much consumed my life. Now I don’t even want to think about it.” -Linda Monson Telling personal stories The oil and gas boom has been underway for a number of years in many locations … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken, Personal stories | Tagged Bakken, Charbonneau Creek, Linda Monson, oil spill, settlement, Williston, Yellowstone River | 8 Comments

Clay Jenkinson, a North Dakota natural resource, covered by Last Best News

Posted on March 17, 2014 by davidjkatz

“I believe North Dakota yesterday declared itself to be an energy sacrifice zone.” -Clay Jenkinson Clay Jenkinson I’ve been looking for an opportunity to write about Clay Jenkinson, a Dickinson, North Dakota native and one of the state’s great non- … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken, Community Organization, Politics and History, Personal stories | Leave a comment

Update: Railway safety

Posted on March 7, 2014 by davidjkatz

In previous posts we’ve looked at the tremendous increase in railway traffic involving crude oil over the last five years, the outmoded nature of tank car stock and the particular vulnerability of Columbus to increased railway traffic related to increased … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken, Community Organization, Politics and History, Fracking Information | Tagged Association of American Railroads, Bakken, breaking systems, community relations, crude oil classification, Department of Transportation, Eagle Ford, emergency response training, increased track inspections, lower speeds, Marcellus, railway safety, safety technology, tank car standards | 3 Comments

Who booms and who busts when drilling expands along the Beartooth front?

Posted on February 21, 2014 by davidjkatz

You may have seen the recent study that showed that rents in the Bakken are higher than anywhere else in the country. It’s amazing to see what a one-bedroom apartment costs, with Williston and Dickinson way ahead of Boston, New … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken, Community Organization, Politics and History | Tagged Bewartooth Front, boom and bust, Dickinson, inflation, McDonalds, rents, split estate, surface use agreement, who leaves and who stays, Williston, winners and losers | 3 Comments

I got a number of personal responses to my op ed in yesterday’s Gazette, many of them supportive, some not so much. Thanks to all who sent me supportive notes. The not-so-supportive ones tended to fall into three general categories: … Continue reading →

Posted on January 14, 2014 by davidjkatz | 3 Comments

Billings Gazette: Guest Opinion by David Katz

Posted on January 13, 2014 by davidjkatz

The following op ed appeared in the January 13 Billings Gazette under my byline: Guest opinion: Citizens can make difference in Beartooth development By DAVID KATZ A Jan. 3 guest opinion paints a gloomy picture of the inevitability of oil … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken, Community Organization, Politics and History | Tagged Beartooth Front, Beartooth Mountains, Bozeman, Bozeman Montana, Coalbed Methane, David Katz, Gallatin County, Good Neighbor Agreement, Oil And Gas Extraction, Stillwater County Montana | 3 Comments

Video Trailer: Backyard by Deia Schlosberg

Posted on January 11, 2014 by davidjkatz

Deia Scholsberg is a self-described “filmmaker, photographer, graphic artist, expeditioner, conservationist, idealist-realist” currently living in Bozeman. Backyard, her new 30 minute film, is screening today at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City, California. The themes of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken, Personal stories | 2 Comments

Video: Living with the Wild West Oil Boom

Posted on January 10, 2014 by davidjkatz

Every resident of Carbon and Stillwater Counties should watch this 30 minute video. It was created by the Dakota Resource Council. It’s one thing to read the news accounts of what the oil and gas boom has done to communities … Continue reading →

Posted in Bakken, Community Organization, Politics and History | Tagged Bakken, Carbon County, oil and gas, Stillwater County, video | 1 Comment