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Tag Archives: Bakken
Documentary film on Bakken life debuts Sunday in Billings
The documentary film “Makoshika,” about life in the Bakken oil fields, will have its Billings premiere this Sunday at 7pm at the Babcock Theater, and will also be shown at the Art House Pub and Theater on March 4-6 and 9-10.
The 50-minute documentary is a culmination of the High Plains Heritage Project, which we first wrote about 18 months ago, when four Montana journalists set off for the Bakken to do in depth coverage of the past, present and future of the region.
Examining both the present boom and those since passed, “Makoshika” alternates between intimate first person narratives and historical commentary, asking viewers to look at the present through the lens of history.
With mild spring weather forecast for Billings this weekend, we recommend the journey.
Click to read more about the film, view the trailer, and order tickets for Sunday’s showing. Continue reading
Posted in Bakken
Tagged Bakken, High Plains Heritage Project, Jessica Jane Hart, Makoshika
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This is Life with Lisa Ling: Filthy Rich (video)
I’ve been accumulating some information about the Bakken, so this is the first of a few posts on the subject. The posts will have more to do with the impacts of an oil society on communities rather than specific oil and gas issues.
Lisa Ling is a CNN reporter who hosts This is Life, a series of video-magazine stories that take her on a “gritty, breathtaking journey to the far corners of America.” One episode is entitled “Filthy Rich,” and it deals with the life of women in the Bakken.
The first part of her story chronicles the lives of some of the few women who have been brave enough to come to Williston to seek their fortunes. Their stories are inspiring. They are tough. They learn to deal with intolerable housing, tremendous social pressure and numbing isolation, and, for the few who can stick it out, they are able to find high-paying jobs in service industries, in the oil fields, and in transport.
But the second half of the episode deals with the flip side of the stories of those strong women, and it is frightening. The trafficking industry is a substantial part of life around the oilfields, and the stories of who they are and how they got to the Bakken will make you angry.
Click to watch the episode. Continue reading
Posted in Bakken
Tagged Bakken, Filthy Rich, Lisa Ling, sex trafficking, This is Life, Williston, women
2 Comments
Learning opportunity: Webinar on challenges of life in the Bakken, July 23
Most of us will never visit the Bakken. We read the news stories, hear the reports of spills and train explosions and lives changed forever, and scratch our heads as oil executives tell us that fracking is essential to a … Continue reading
Posted in Bakken
Tagged Bakken, Dakota Resource Council, Earthworks, Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Sierra Club, webinar
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Great Falls Tribune interview with Jim Halvorson of the Montana Board of Oil and Gas
“Drilling in the Bakken Formation in Montana has basically ceased at the current oil price, which fell dramatically last fall. There have not been many wells actually shut-in yet but there are some drilled wells that might not be put in production until the oil price improves.” Continue reading
Salt water spills require local regulation to protect farmers and ranchers
Farmers and ranchers in the Bakken have had an uneasy peace with the oil industry since the fracking boom started. Many receive royalty payments based on their ownership of the minerals under their land, and so they have been relatively … Continue reading
Posted in Bakken
Tagged Bakken, brine, citizen initiated zoning, leaks, pipelines, produced water
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Smithsonian Channel’s “Boomtowners” chronicles life in the Bakken (video)
Interesting viewing today, courtesy of the Smithsonian Channel, which has developed a multi-part series on life in the Bakken. From the web site: “Boomtowners” plunges into a modern-day “gold rush” that’s attracting thousands of people from all over the country … Continue reading
Sidney, Montana: Riding the boomtown roller coaster (with NPR audio)
Sidney, Montana is riding the boomtown roller coaster. Last year we reported on Sidney’s unmet infrastructure needs as the town was riding the upwards Bakken boom. Growth had taxed the city’s infrastructure to bursting. A summary from a Montana Public … Continue reading
Posted in Bakken, Fracking Information
Tagged Bakken, Crime, infrastructure, National Public Radio, NPR, Rick Norby, schools, Sidney Montana
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Gas flaring is dangerous to our health and environment. There’s one way to stop it. Locally.
Gas flaring, the deliberate open-air burning of natural gas, is a practice common in the largest shale oil plays where natural gas is a byproduct of oil extraction. There are some legitimate reasons to allow limited use of flaring. After a shale oil/gas … Continue reading
Posted in Fracking Information
Tagged Bakken, citizen initiated zoning, Earthworks, Flaring, Natural gas
9 Comments
Preserve the Beartooth Front 